#since orphan has graduated-

[likesdoodling]

The Adventures of Steve and Orphan 47-60. With probably an extra one in the middle due to the 'pandora's box' originally being just one picture. I thought it was funnier this way though, so that's how it is now. Also- caption for the last picure-

"Eventually Steve simply settled for being happy that his Master had returned. He didn't exactly see why the nice person was making Master drink so much, but it smelled vaguely like meat, so at least he wasn't eating grass. Which seemed to be a weird preference of some humans. The rescue attempt may not have worked out how they planned it to, but with Master back all was well. Steve certainly wasn't going to let him leave alone next time. He wasn't planning on letting Master out of his sight. At least not for a while yet"

The draft for this story was made after Technoblade's prison stream with dream when the topic of Steve coming to rescue them came up. So my draft didn't extend past them getting out. I was gonna do something along the lines of 'the three musketeers' for the Ranboo rescue mission, but then Technoblade died. I had potential plans for a 'Lazerknife' guy showing up, after watching some of Phil's streams, but decided against it since I didn't think I could do it justice. Anyway. This is where the story ends. Steve has his Master back, all is well. Other things may happen afterwards, but Master is invincible, so he will be fine. Just hopefully more inclined to take Steve along next time. And maybe Orphan. The kid's been getting pretty good these days. Steve is beginning to doubt if he will ever get taller, but Orphan is Steve's apprentice, so it ought to happen at some point.

[crowned-peony]

Tell me of a sentimental item(s) you have

I wanna listen to the story about who gave it to you or how you got it

Is it with you every day? Is it somewhere safe?

[cheemscakecat]

Bucket Scene Analysis pt. 1

So I’m revisiting the Bucket Scene from Expiration Date, and I noticed some things. Spy’s feelings got really hurt, but the other Mercenaries didn’t mean to seriously upset him. Let’s go over their POV first.

Engineer and Medic are doing more experiments on the teleporter, so they aren’t present for the bucket scene. They’ll be trying to figure out a way to stop the tumors for the next three days instead of accepting the team’s deaths.

Soldier is too dumb to understand what’s going on, and Pyro presumably isn’t aware enough of his surroundings.

Demoman comes from a family with really disturbing traditions; they let him live as an orphan and only revealed themselves after he killed his adoptive family in an explosion… Because he was showing his skill. He’s actually expected to lose his sight entirely like his parents. Out of anybody there who knows what’s happening, he’s the most unbothered by them dying because of that twisted heritage.

Sniper calls his parents every week, and I’m sure he’s told them/about to tell them what’s happening. But he also has a plan to kill everyone he meets, so even if he is bothered by the fact that he’ll die, he’s not going to make the others privy.

Heavy has been responsible for his three sisters and his mother since he was a child. Around them, he’d be a bit more open and accept their hand on his shoulder.. But not Spy. Around co-workers, Heavy’d rather think on what’s happening and be left to those thoughts. Besides that, he already provided a secluded cabin in Siberia for his family to keep them safe, so if he dies at work he’ll be at peace knowing they’re ok.

I very much get the vibe that Spy never puts his hand on the others like this, and that’s why Heavy hit him with that Side-eye Claire face.

Now Scout? He’s an interesting case because he’s about to humiliate Spy with the fake cards, but in terms of them dying in three days:

“Ve have three days to live!”

It’s subtle, but he looks like he might cry. Not in front of them, but still. And that tracks, because he and Spy are the most sensitive members of the team. You can look at Spy’s reaction behind Medic, and it becomes more obvious.

But Jeremy wasn’t raised by Spy.

He was raised by his mother [who’s doing her best] and seven older brothers who are terrible role models. I have no doubt that his brothers were involved in petty street crime and gangs when they were younger, even if some came to their senses as adults. And gangs are not well known for emotional stability.

Scout grew up around seven guys that wanted to be “hard” and ignored their emotional needs/daddy issues… As the youngest and the most sensitive one. I imagine that crying and showing that something is getting to you was met with mockery. And being labeled a weakling. So Scout did his best to stop showing that “weakness”.

Now he’s graduated from the criminal fights his brothers used to get into, and joined a group of mercenaries. Since he looked up to his brothers and grew up imbedded in their worldview, he seeks approval from the other Mercenaries in the same way. That’s why he chooses to mock Spy instead of asking for the last wishes. It makes him look unbothered and he can call Spy the weak one instead of being cruelly labeled himself.

But RED team doesn’t operate like Scout’s siblings or a gang. They’re all individuals that specialize in a certain area of mercenary work, who could leave for a different team or independent work if they weren’t happy on the team. [Provided they don’t release any information that the Administrator wants hidden, or rebel against her.]

So when Scout pranks Spy, they aren’t seeing his as a weakling; it’s not even crossing their minds. They’re smiling because Scout seems happy despite impending doom. And why shouldn’t they be glad that he’s having a good time of it? Beats being dejected and since he’s the youngest, they’re more worried about his well-being.

What’s interesting is that Heavy seems to sense that Spy is upset, because his smile noticeably fades when he looks up. But I still don’t think he realizes how much this prank and the teams’ indifference hurt Spy.

[blaithnne]

Man. You ever wake up and remember that Johanna’s been an orphan since she was ten. She practically never knew her parents. Astrid didn’t go to Trolberg with her. She was all alone. She met Anders, he left, she was all alone. She moved to the wilderness, she was all alone. She moved back to Trolberg, she was all alone. She cried alone in her car because this wasn’t the sort of mum she wanted to be, but how was she supposed to know how to do better? She never had an example to follow. She doesn’t know what a mum is supposed to do. She’s trying so hard. She’s been alone for so long she doesn’t know how to make friends, she’s never had a proper family. She was a sparrow scout, she had the most badges in her flock, she attended every meeting until she graduated, she didn’t feel so lonely there. She clings to Hilda and the little life they’ve built together because she’s the only consistent thing that’s ever been in her life, that’s always been there. And now she’s growing up and ready to leave her alone again and she doesn’t know what to do, because is this what’s supposed to happen? She doesn’t know. She never wanted to be alone. She should call Astrid. She doesn’t know the number anymore. Astrid wants her to visit, but she’s too afraid to go home. The wilderness was isolating, because it was so far from home. Trolberg is isolating, because it was so far from home. Toføten is isolating, and what does that leave her with? If home isn’t relaxing, if it isn’t warm and perfect, then there’s no excuse. Everywhere’s just lonely and it always will be. She tries so hard to help Hilda make friends, so she’s not as alone as she was. She goes to the bird parade with Hilda, it’s just the two of them and she can’t find her anywhere. She finds Astrids number and invites her next year, she doesn’t come. Hilda goes with her friends. Johanna sits on the wall alone. There’s a trick of the light and it almost looks like she has two shadows, that happens a lot. For a moment she feels less alone.

[mammalsofaction]

HUMAN PERRY AU BACKSTORY

I've been having a lot of thoughts lately about Human Perry headcanons as I read a bunch of fic and rewatch phineas and ferb. You know you're hitting the nail on the head when scenes from a fic you might never write dog your every waking step and haunts your dreams so, I thought putting it on paper will help.

A lot of fics like to suggest that Perry's full name is Peregrine, which is understandable, but ever since I've rewatched 2D and found out their first name for him was actually Bartholomew my life was never the same. So Perry's actual name is Bartholomew. But nobody actually calls him that least of all himself.

FAMILY RELATIONS

-I really like winding headcanons that Perry is Ferb's biological mom's BROTHER, which honestly makes so much sense as to why both he and Ferb have green hair. Here are some add-ons that may get depressing;

Ferb's mom was Eve, or Evelyn. Her codename was E, for Echidna...because egg-laying mammals native to Australia. They were both orphans, and attached to the hip. They were each other's partner in crime.

-They were scouted for OWCA one day, bc the agency liked picking up kids with potential as young as possible. So Perry and Eve were trained for the agency since the start (which is why Perry is such a good agent at what seems to be a young age)

MY HEADCANONS FOR OWCA

-Owca is a largely independent authoritarian enterprise with branches all over the world. They aren't the only ones, obviously.

-OWCA also prefers training agents as early as they could. Sometimes that entails scouting talent. Sometimes that means taking in kids of employed agents. Either way, this means OWCA has elementary and high schools that are more akin to militant training camps. It's not cruel. The kids are well cared for and well fed, but OWCA prioritized competency, obedience and discipline.

On every level of OWCA recruitment, training and employment, there is a fedora, and band to mark whichever level you are on the totem pole.

1) Middle school kids are given a bandless fedora.

2) High school kids (soon to be graduates) are given a white band

3) Fresh graduates, training into full employment, are Yellow Bands. Here you start being assigned to full branches, and trained by field work professionals. Think OWCA Files.

4) It's fairly easy to graduate from Yellow Band into a Purple Band. Purple Bands are largely refereed to as Junior Agents, but that's not quite accurate. Purple Bands are the highest reporting authority in any division that ISN'T FIELD WORK. The OWCA Tech, Clerks, RnD and Science Divisions all have Purple Bands to signify they are fully employed, or Superior Officer. Pinky has a Purple Band.

5) It's VERY DIFFICULT to graduate from a Purple Band to a Black Band, not least because there IS NO PREDETERMINED TEST. Black Band agents are Superior Agents, only one level below Division General. There's no telling what could turn you from a Purple to a Black, because the agent has to prove unwavering obedience and faith to the agency in dire circumstances. It's saying "I am willing to do anything for the Greater Good."  Often it entails a death of some sort. OWCA often says Black is the band soaked in blood. Black Band agents have licenses to kill. It's why Black Band Agents are few and precious far in between.

6) After a black band, and you live long enough to retire, you can choose a bunch of things. Most agents choose to become Division Generals or Branch Managers: think Major Monogram. They're basically glorified "Guy in the Chair". Some agents choose to become educators, in which case they are given White Fedoras. White fedoras arent exclusive to black bands though; there are plenty purple band white fedoras. In fact most educators are purple band white fedoras.

-Perry's Black Band Event was Eve's death

-At the time of Eve's death, she had already been married to Lawrence. Ferb was barely a year old, maybe 10 months old?

-Lawrence was told it was a car accident: drunk driver. Truthfully it was a mission gone wrong, involving an underground child trafficking ring, and she stayed behind to give them all the chance to escape. She didn't have the chance to escape when security explosives around the building detonated, and she got caught in the crossfire. Perry had to leave her behind.

-This is why Perry refused to get a partner btw, aka his Lone Wolf tendencies come from.

-In the aftermath, OWCA agents approached the family to give them their condolences, and offer to take Ferb into the fold. For the first time since Eve's death, Perry practically lost it. He didn't hurt anyone, he's much too professional, but he knew Eve didn't want Ferb to get wrapped up in OWCA, and for good fucking reason. Due to their training, neither he nor Eve had much of a childhood, and he refused to subject Ferb to the same kind of life experience.

OWCA was NOT happy. Things were tetchy for a while, at least until Perry was approached by Major Monogram. Francis had a wife, and a son, and he understood where Perry was coming from. He suggested taking a permanent residence in Danville, which was his branch division. It was more stability than Perry ever had working in England, where he and Eve was originally stationed, and it was easy enough to come up with a work-related story to convince Lawrence, who was more than ready enough to leave the house where he and Eve originally lived.

-It was after moving did Lawrence meet and fall in love with Linda.

Edit; I've decided to change Ferb's bio mom's name bc I found something that fits better to me :) She's Eve now

End Backstory.

[rashobeast]

S5 JESTRO!! Finally finished this after 2 weeks of procrastination. I drew my headcanons for s5 jestro for my silly au/fan season/ headcanons for nexo knights. Basically at some point during s3/4 Jestro finds out he is distantly related to Monstrux which is why Monstrux was so determined to use Jestro as his scheming buddy. Magic in thr Nexo Knights universe is a genetic thing- you either have it or you dint and genes can also play a role in what type of magic you can use. Monstrux comed from a long line of necromancy and while necromancy itself isn't inherently 'evil', it can become evil. Nexo magic is kind of like an anti evil. It can be used to clense evil magic of its negative energy. Although with the forbidden powers it can be corrupted, although this is hard to do.

In s5 Jestro begins to practice his own form of necromancy, which im thinking his little monster fellas could be like puppets and ventriloquism?? Since Monstrox zapped him it kinda activated his magical abilities like Clay. But cuz of his previous corruptions it's still kinda evil on its own. He and Clay combine their magics together and wait for it... Nexomancy!! Clays magic can be controlled without using a weapon or a staff etc but Jestro uses an old staff he and Merlock found when they were researching the origins of necromancy. He doesnt have a shield because he didn't actually graduate from the Knights Academy but after he proves to knights that he doesn't want to be evil any more he becomes an Honorary Nexo Knight. Yes this is literally just me brainrotting Jestro being magic WHAT OF IT?? HES MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER SO I GET TO DO WHAT I WANT WITH HIM!!!

Also Jestros little family crest is a crow. He doesn't actually have an official one cuz orphan and he don't wanna be associated with Monstrux- he already has a few of his characteristics e.g sharp teeth and cat-like eyes. Clay designs him a family crest when he finds out Jestro is gonna be made an Honorary Knight. Why a crow? Crows can symbolise transformation and change, which is kinda symbolic of him changing himself froma villain to helping the knights. Also crows are often associated with death and evil which i think kinda resembles his magic in a way (necromancy is associated with death). Also Claystro both have matching bird crests yayy!!!

Probably will ramble about this au more in future/when i actually have a solid plan for a plot and ruina/clay lore figured out cuz IDK!!

[acesw]

The School System of SPDM

The School Primary Defense of Mankind is a private institution where every few years, they take in orphaned arcanists around the world to train them for the purpose of becoming members of the Foundation. Many of the graduates go into the military/investigative sector of the Foundation and a handful are assigned to offices, given positions in headquarters and in rare cases accepted by the political councils. There is also a chance to work at Laplace, but thus far, Mesmer Jr. is the only one who had been placed there because of her lineage.

Not much is known about how the school works, but I will be mapping out as much information as I can find about the school, and make sure its organized as possible.

Disclaimer: This is solely based on Chapter 3, Green Lake, and the characters we have thus far who were students at SPDM. The only graduates we have are Horropedia (oldest graduate), Sonetto, Mesmer Jr., Vertin, and Matilda (youngest graduate of the group). I'll be referring to them as the "Foundation Kids", since the name sounds fitting enough. There are going to be spoilers for Chapter 3 and the characters' stories, so tread carefully.

Additionally, I'm going to be rarely using images because I really do not want to go into the effort of making screenshots after screenshots right now.

So buckle up and get ready for a big wall of paragraphs and sentences.

Known Staff Roles of the School

Principal - The head that manages the affairs of the school and responsible for all the matters that happen within. The current principal as of chapter 3 is Richard. Instructors - Their main purpose is to teach students varying subjects, a few that can be named are biology, music, potions, and arcane history School Physician - The person that takes care of the overall health of the students. It can be assumed that there are two per semester, since Tooth Fairy in particular would only stay in the school as its physician for half a year. Janitors - Of course, people that clean up areas in the school, and they have the freedom to interact with the children. Some are referred to as uncles and aunts I'd assume. Monitor Assistants - Students or Student Graduates that choose to help monitor the students of the school as a means to train them for instructor roles. Matilda is the only known monitor assistant so far. Monitor Students - Students that are given the role to monitor their peers. There seems to be a head role given to the school's high-achieving students like Sonetto. They are changed routinely every day and can increase/decrease depending on the necessity.

Level System and Enrollment

Of course, a school would not exist without its level system. The SPDM has a curriculum in place that sections off the varying different age groups of the orphaned arcanists after taking them in. The average range of the arcanists they take in are between a few months to 4 years old at its possible max.

The youngest student that had arrived in the school is Vertin at 1 month old, while Matilda is the oldest known student that had willingly enrolled at around 6 to 7 years old. This means that enrolling at the school is possible if the arcanist family is known to the Foundation. (For our Foundation kids, Sonetto and Vertin are the only ones to have been adopted into the school, whereas the other three have family or at least a guardian prior to enrollment)

The age of which arcanists graduate from the school seem to vary, in which Vertin, Sonetto, Matilda, and Mesmer Jr. had graduated at 13-15 years old. Whereas Horropedia, claimed to have been "several grades above" the group when the breakaway incident had happened. He's estimated to have been 17 at the time of the incident, while the rest of the group were around 10-12. This makes the information conflicting at first glance.

But of course, figuring out this level system would be rather helpful. This would be considered as a K-10 or K-13 curriculum, and it seems that the students can be categorized by as "Academic Year # Semester #".

Nursery & Kindergarten (1-5 years) - Where new baby and orphaned arcanists who were taken in by the school are raised in the first few years at the school.

Early Stage (5-10 years) - Young arcanists start their academic journey in the school, where they learn about the world around them while being isolated from the outside. They also begin their physical/arcanum training as a means to strengthen them whilst their afflatus and arcane skills slowly develop and awaken over time.

Late Stage (10-12 years) - The age of which arcanists begin to awaken their arcane skill. They are given the materials and training to develop their arcane skills and are slowly introduced to the world around them, being shown the opportunities they could take based on their skillset and possibly being invited to explore the work environment. (Its also in this stage that the students have a change in uniform.)

Work Immersion & Graduation (12-15 years) - The arcanists will begin to do work immersion in the fields they choose to specialize in, to familiarize themselves in the environment and even make their placements in these fields early on. Eventually, they graduate and go into official work for their sectors within the Foundation.

Higher Education (15-18 years) - Student graduates who might choose to seek higher education as a means to train for more skilled positions in their line of work. This can give them more opportunities and guidance on their first few years of work.

Rules and Education

"May the peace be with us. May the peace be with mankind." The school's main pursuit for its students are some philosophers' exhortation: "Heritage, Honor, Rationality, Responsibility"

The education in SPDM is rigorous, and goes in depth about many of the topics at hand and also putting their students through difficult trainings to ensure that they are at their best physique and readied skills. They tend to be strict, and would have a consistent flow of tests to ensure every student studies well.

Their rules are also just as meticulous, wanting to make sure that their students' conscience and goals stay close to the ideologies of the school and the Foundation. Going from disallowing them from artistic/literary media that is "not advocated or approved by" the Foundation, treating outside attachments as "meaningless", and teaching students that they are meant to sacrifice themselves for the safety of mankind.

The school has a Student Handbook that goes through these rules and guidelines. The main idea and rule that the school imposes is to pay no heed to the world outside, as creating an attachment would only bring harm and regret. They are to focus on training themselves to serve their mission towards pursuing peace and order in the guidance of the Foundation until death, since all of the students are taught that they would die martyrs for the cause.

"To live is to lose things around us until the day we lose life itself to death. That's why we should only focus on the supreme missions." - Sonetto, Frogs and Toffee (3-2)

Some of these rules include the standard things (no skipping classes, no in-fighting) while also having rules such as no mass gatherings, conspiration against the school, acquiring and keeping contraband, leaving school grounds, etc. However, there are some liberties that are taken, such as having freedom with hairstyles, free use of arcane skills, etc.

Interestingly, one of the rules is that discussion about the "Storm" is forbidden. Its also forbidden to go out when its raining, and discouraged to discuss any incident that had occurred within the school.

There are routinely inspections that are carried out to make sure no rules are being broken, such as dorm checks and head counting. Monitor staff are also in place to ensure there is order among the students, and as mentioned previously, the school would have a head student monitor that would cooperate with the respective school monitor and monitor assistant. If strict supervision is required for any reason, the Foundation will step in and arrange to deploy their own units or Zeno recruits from the academy. (Like in the case of the Manus Vindictae's olitiaus having to be scouted out by Zeno recruits like Lilya)

Punishments

Punishments are of course, carried out based on the rule that is broken. Normally, these punishments wouldn't be so harsh (it just so happened our little troublemaker just actively likes to break major rules). The most normal of the punishments that have been given out so far is a timeout and confiscation of contraband. Of course, there is the more…extreme side.

With the little shit I mean Vertin having this tendency to break rules, one of the punishments we see her go through is isolation. There is a guardhouse in the school's campus where students who break major rules stay in it for a specific amount of time based on what rule is broken. The most merciful would be only a mention of the "Storm" (1 day with no food/water), the worst of it is mass gathering and what can be classified as rebellion (2 weeks with no food/water).

Campus

We currently have a complete map of the school thanks to chapter 3 and the manus. The school is walled off and has watchtowers to ensure that there are no outsiders (and of course, escapees). There seems to be air raid tunnels beneath the schools as well, why they were built in besides its main purpose is not known, but as we know it has been rarely used. In these air raid tunnels we find that there are also blast doors that border between the tunnels and the watchtowers.

There are no labels on where the guardhouses are, but they are of course meant to discipline the students. There are critters and tools at the kids' disposal, to mostly alleviate immediate problems. The guardhouse is checked regularly, and is cleaned up weekly. Though, some messages left behind by previous dwellers are left as is for the next to help guide them through.

George the Oak is a tree possibly situatied near the lake on the map, and is known to be a famous tree for the kids because of its age and its size. There, they can go in the tree hollow or even just sit under the giant leaves. Either way, it looks to be like a nice spot to go to for the students when they have free time. Sad it got cautioned off after the parade incident.

Employees from the Foundation headquarters have the freedom to enter the school campus and visit the facilities as they'd like, as we see with Constantine and Druvis meeting in the library, and Madam Z and Katz meeting in the sports field in chapter 4.

Lastly, the school is most likely situated next to the official headquarters building, and there is a town that is near the school since there was a time where Vertin and Sonetto went to watch an outsider parade from a distance.

Events

There are 3 important events for SPDM: The Annual Evaluation, Parade Ceremony, and the Graduation of Year 10 & Higher Education students.

The Annual Evaluation is where they evaluate the overall performance of their students, and rank them based on the evaluation. -Sonetto and Matilda had made it to the rankings prior to or during the 4th Year of the Storm. Sonetto made her way to rank 1, while Matilda had achieved rank 3.

The Annual Parade is to showcase the school's best image and boost morale, and with it, the school selects their best students to participate in a three-month intense training. Through this they would become the school's honor guard and represent the students in the best way possible. Before this, a pre-parade ceremony is held out to help practice and for the principal to send his regards/support to the students. -As again, one of the most outstanding students, Sonetto's "Parade Anthem" garment seems to be the honor guard uniform that she had been given, signaling that she was one of the chosen students for the training course.

And lastly, Graduation. Of course, the main focus here would be the year 10 students of SPDM; who officially become workers for the Foundation. We're not really sure how this ceremony happens, but it can be thought that the students will be given the choice to choose their paths immediately after the ceremony, or, it would be assigned to them.

Vertin and Mesmer Jr. are excluded from the choice/allocation, as they were both put into roles early on for special circumstances. For Vertin it was because she became the Timekeeper after the breakaway incident, and for Mesmer she had been put into the role of working in Laplace because of her lineage and heritage.

While Sonetto seemed to have chosen to be a field investigator, Matilda was assigned to her role as a Monitor Assistant.

Horropedia on the other hand seems to have sought out higher education since he stayed in the Foundation a bit longer than others, and thus graduated with such an honor. This made him able to start working in the external inspection unit as it seems.

Other notes on the Foundation kids before ending this megapost:

Sonetto has proven to be the most outstanding graduate of SPDM, and has been rewarded medals (i.e. Merit Medal of Session Eight) and even a ceremony stick because of her role as an honor guard.

Its very likely that Vertin was isolated from the rest of the students to train her for her role as the Timekeeper. Besides that, she is one of the most unique students of the school.

Mesmer Jr. had been assigned to work in Laplace's Rehabilitation Center at 12 years old, making her the youngest person to have started work among the five.

Besides Sonetto, Matilda has technically not seen her former classmates since graduation, and possibly has not seen Vertin for an even longer time.

Horropedia is the only person who had stayed in SPDM past the assumed graduating age, which makes me believe that he had received higher education or was held back by troublemaking…I can see both possibilities.

Overall, these are the observations that I was able to rule out. There are still some things that I might not have considered or taken to account yet, but that's just because I can't really tell if it can be added here + I wrote this at 5 am. SPDM's school system is a bit screwed because of the punishments and everything, but this entire guide feels like it can be comprehended better.

Thanks for reading to the bottom of this post. I'm open to answer questions as well as add into/fix the information here!

[heich0e]

When Umemiya and Mom get married, do they give Kosuke a little brother or little sister?

i think ume and reader are happy with their family as it is, and feel content not to have any more kids together. kosuke is every bit a son to hajime. he loves him unconditionally, with his entire heart. you have the conversation of course, but both of you are in agreement. you're more than satisfied with what you have. exceedingly grateful for it. you can't imagine anything more.

hajime graduates with his degree and qualifications as a child psychologist, and he starts his career soon after. most of his work is clinical, but outside his normal clinical role he volunteers with the alternative care sector: helping out whenever he can in group homes and family homes—just like, and including, the one he was raised in.

he comes home late one day, almost a decade into your relationship, dishevelled and clearly exhausted. kosuke (13 now, getting taller each day, and going through the phase where he only wants to hide in his room and play video games) has already gone to bed for the night, and you're left curled up on the couch waiting up for your husband's return. when he walks through the door he comes right to you, falling to his knees before you on the living room floor and burying his face against your tummy as he wraps his arms around you and holds tight.

it takes him a moment, pressed up against you with his grip still firm, but he tells you about the two little girls he met through the child guidance centre that afternoon: 4 years old and the other not yet 1, biological sisters, orphaned and facing separation since the youngest requires an infant care facility that isn't able to accept older children. hajime tells you with a strain in his voice how even when the baby gets old enough to transition to a family home, there's no guarantee the two will ever be reunited.

hajime's job is hard—he's seen countless heart-wrenching cases like this over the years, but he always endeavours through it because he knows that's what he has to do to help. you've seen him be others' strength so many times, seen him bear that weight without complaint or waver, but you can see how this time it's eating away at him.

it doesn't happen overnight. there are long, difficult conversations that have to happen: some just between yourself and your husband, and some with your son. there are meetings held in strangely lifeless playrooms in transitional facilities, where you get to know the two girls. meetings where you come to understand why hajime was so wholly taken by them, and come to care for them in just the same way.

and then, however unexpectedly, your family—the one you thought was perfect just the way it was—grows; two little sprouts appearing overnight after a rainstorm, who get to blossom under your care.

you never expected to have another child, let alone two of them, and certainly never expected to be raising another baby—especially not at your age.

you never thought you'd get to see hajime up doing midnight feeds, or diaper changes, or wake up to him dozing beside you in your bed with a teething baby on his bare chest because it was the only way he could get her to sleep. never thought you'd see your husband learn how to braid hair, or play dolls, or paint tiny little toenails.

you never pictured kosuke as a big brother, or anticipated how naturally he would take to it; reading bedtime stories, wiping away tears, and putting pink plasters on scraped knees he then kisses better.

but hikari and himari came home, changed everything, and from that moment on you couldn't imagine your life without them.

[hydrangeas-and-hives]

Spencer Cassadine x Trina Robinson General Hospital Lore

The following is an imperfectly formatted but comprehensive explanation of everything that happened to Spencer and/or Trina during the 2021 and 2022 storylines.

Here are the important characters and relationships to know:

Spencer Cassadine is the son of Nikolas Cassadine and his late mistress/fiancée, Courtney Matthews, who died shortly after his birth. His paternal grandmother is Laura Collins, the mayor of Port Charles and a board member at General Hospital. The Cassadine family is ultra wealthy/powerful and apparently they’re all trying to kill each other over the family inheritance. 

Spencer was conceived during an affair that his parents had while they were both married to other people, so his life has always been messy. Spencer was considered an orphan after his father was supposedly killed by another Cassadine in 2016. Nikolas was revealed to be alive 3 years later. His grandmother, Laura Collins has been his legal guardian since his father's presumed death.

He was “away at boarding school in France” until Nicholas Chavez took over the role as an adult Spencer.

His father Nikolas is married to Ava Jerome, and their marriage is and was full of drama apparently. Spencer DESPISES Ava, mostly surrounding his father’s fake death, apparently she refused to testify against his murderer. He acts like she’s the most vile woman on earth and resents everything she does.

Spencer ends up trying to blackmail his father and stepmother into divorcing, however there are complications regarding money/inheritance that makes his dad not cooperate with the schemes. Spencer makes it his mission to terrorize Ava as much as possible, sending her disturbing/threatening gifts and letters anonymously to “scare” her into divorcing Nikolas on her own, so the family fortune won’t be compromised. Upon graduating from boarding school, Spencer returns to Port Charles but keeps his distance to secretly stalk and victimize Nikolas/Ava. This is how he meets Trina Robinson.

Trina Robinson is the daughter of Dr. Portia Robinson, who is co-chief of staff at General Hospital. Her father is Lieutenant Marcus Taggert. While Taggert was away on assignment, Portia had an affair with Curtis Ashford. It has been hinted that Curtis is Trina's biological father. Taggert at one point was presumed dead but was then revealed to be alive prior to the 2021 storyline. Taggert and Dr. Robinson divorced, and eventually she reconnects with Curtis, which Trina struggles to accept. Trina is passionate about art and is an intern at the Jerome Gallery. She is very close with her boss, Ava Jerome, who treats her like a daughter.

The night of Trina’s high school graduation party, Spencer breaks into the Jerome Gallery while wearing a mask and Trina runs into him. She throws a remote at his head and sets off Spencer's trap of spraying fake blood all over the gallery using the sprinkler system.

Spencer goes to Trina's party, entering the back way and scaring her. However, she doesn’t recognize him as her “attacker” at all. They talk and flirt, with Spencer complimenting her, and claiming his name is Victor and that he's a barback at the nightclub. They continue to “run into each other” and an true flirtmance starts between the two, but Spencer tells half-truths about his backstory to keep his identity a mystery. His deceptions eventually catch up with him when he reunites with his childhood frenemies, Josslyn Jacks and Cameron Webber, who happen to be Trina’s current best friends.

Josslyn is the daughter of a wealthy hotel magnate?? but Cameron’s mom is a nurse and his family situation is apparently messier with some financial struggle, and Cameron works to support his mom/siblings and put himself through school. At one point, Trina and Cameron had a mild crush on each other, but ultimately decided they were better off as friends. By summer of 2021, Josslyn and Cameron have started dating, and Trina is supportive. All 3 of them are about to start their freshman year at Port Charles University (PCU). 

Spencer runs into them at Josslyn’s mom’s hotel pool club, and the three immediately start teasing and throwing jabs at each other, with Joss eventually pushing Spencer into the pool. Trina arrives at the club, and Joss initiates an introduction between her and their old classmate Spencer Cassadine, who emerges from the pool and locks eyes with Trina. In a very Grease-like fashion, Trina doesn’t appreciate being lied to and their flirtmance ceases. 

Spencer re-enters his family’s orbit, and they welcome him with open arms, having no idea that he’s their stalker/blackmailer. Spencer openly hates Ava though. Spencer’s girlfriend from boarding school, Esme Prince arrives in Port Charles. She immediately rubs his family the wrong way and is cold to everyone she meets. This girl REPELS charm and everyone barely tolerates her. She and Spencer apparently trauma bonded at boarding school because they both believed themselves to be orphans. Esme really butts heads with Josslyn, yet the 5 youths form a frenemy group that constantly spends time with each other. Esme is also clearly jealous of Trina and her connection with Spencer. There’s sexual/romantic tension between them, but they don’t act upon it.

Spencer’s stalking/blackmailing of his father and stepmother gets extreme, I think he does something that puts Ava’s young daughter (from another relationship) in jeopardy, and he eventually gets caught. I think Ava decides to press charges for all of the emotional distress and threats to her life. Spencer is put on trial and despite many attempts to use rich white male privilege to get off, he is sentenced to 30 days in prison as well as restitution, having to work at the Jerome Gallery for free under Trina’s supervision. I didn’t get the full context, but Trina got caught in the crossfires of all of Spencer’s legal troubles, and they aren’t on good terms generally, but Spencer really regrets hurting her. I think he tries to make amends around Christmas time. It also turns out that Esme was helping Spencer pull off the threatening pranks and blackmail attempts, but she did it because she “loved” him and wanted to be supportive. Somehow Esme is not incriminated legally for being an accomplice. 

On an attempted friends trip up to Josslyn’s family’s mountain cabin before Spencer’s prison stay, Esme literally stirs up drama by spiking Trina’s drink and initiating a game of never have I ever with the intent to drive a wedge between Trina and Josslyn. The game prompts eventually cause a clearly drugged Trina to get upset and admit that she did have some sore feelings about Joss and Cameron’s relationship, mostly how she felt left out of their friend group dynamic. Clearly unwell, Trina excuses herself from the group, and passes out in a bedroom. Josslyn and Esme get into a screaming match over the incident, and Esme convinces Spencer to leave the cabin early with her, saying they’ll come back for their belongings later. However, before she left, Esme set up a phone to record Josslyn and Cameron’s bed with the intent to capture them having sex for the first time. She recorded this using a burner phone she bought from a black market dealer. 

Spencer goes to prison for a 30 day sentence in January of 2022. On his last night before leaving, he and Trina have a moment of romantic friendliness and almost kiss before Esme interrupts them. While she’s visiting him in prison, Spencer asks Esme if she’ll return to the cabin to get some personal items for him, and it’s presumed that this errand is when Esme retrieved the burner phone. On Valentine's Day, Spencer secretly arranges for an art book of her favorite artist to be gifted to Trina. 

I could not find any clips of the show between February and May 2022, but in that timeframe the following apparently happened: 

At some point, Trina meets and develops a friendly rapport with Rory Cabrera, a local police officer. After getting out of prison, Spencer did go to work at Jerome Gallery for at least a little while, and tensions between him and Trina were high. He’s visibly jealous of the budding friendship between Trina and Rory, but his relationship with Esme is technically stronger than ever. Him and Esme are living with his father at the family estate, but his relationship with his family still needs work. 

Esme posted the intimate video of Joss/Cameron online and distributed it to the PCU student body, and somehow framed Trina for the crime, setting her up as a scorned friend who recorded/posted revenge porn. It’s convincing enough for Trina to be formally accused by the university and is put on trial under some serious felony charges that could totally destroy her life/ambitions. 

Fast forward to July 2022, Esme also apparently slept with Nikolas in a fit of passion, and is keeping a multitude of secrets from Spencer about who she is. She claims to be an orphan who’s adoptive parents ALSO died, and she was raised by a nanny before attending boarding school. However, she’s actually the daughter of a known serial killer, and is doing his bidding in secret. 

Spencer’s feelings for Esme were once apparently genuine (trauma bond) but he’s now fed up with her lies and schemes (at least the ones he knows about.) Spencer hatches a plot to help Trina in her legal case, and threatens Esme with an ultimatum and offers to tell her information about her supposed birth mother if she exonerates Trina. Esme, not wanting to incriminate herself, angrily turns down Spencer. Esme goes to her serial killer dad and tells him that Spencer found her birth mother, but he claims that Spencer is lying. During their talk, he promises Esme that they will destroy their enemies and then find her birth mother together.

At Trina’s trials, all of the friends give testimonies that seem to only incriminate Trina further, Spencer included, even though they all know she’s innocent and believe Esme is responsible. Spencer pleads with Esme to exonerate Trina, and lets her know that he doesn’t care about her anymore. Esme at one point says to him “and your precious Trina goes free,” to which he emphatically responds, “yes.” Even though Rory and Trina are embracing mere feet away, and it clearly hurts him, he says he doesn’t care if he can’t be with her, he just refuses to let her go down for something she didn’t do. It’s evident that he loves her, and this is possibly what triggers his good boy arc?? 

Nikolas admits to Ava that he slept with Esme. She does not take it well. Esme testifies at Trina’s trial, and Trina’s lawyer reads her for filth, which seems to help her case just a bit. Trina prepares to give her own testimony, but Spencer asks her lawyer for the chance to testify again as part of the defense, clearly desperate to save her. He reveals that Trina was with him the night the video was posted, incriminating HIMSELF because this happened during his prison sentence. She wasn’t visiting him in prison, he had arranged for an “off the books” day pass to leave.. Apparently the day he escaped was the anniversary of his mother’s death and he wanted to go put flowers on her grave. He apparently ran into Trina at the cemetery (as far as I can tell, this was never shown on screen.) When Trina’s lawyer asks why he’s admitting this, Spencer starts crying and looks at Trina, saying “at a certain point you have to stop doing the easy thing, and start doing the right thing.” Spencer openly accuses Esme of being responsible for the video, which clearly means a lot to Trina. The prosecuting attorney holds on to the idea that Trina could have scheduled the email, setting up an example for the jury to witness, and it appears that Spencer’s testimony might have failed to absolve Trina and only incriminate himself. 

Back at the Cassadine family home, Esme attempts to flee but gets caught by Ava, calling her a “conniving little whore.” They have a full, drawn out confrontation and Ava proves herself to be pretty ruthless, eventually threatening Esme’s life if she doesn’t come clean. 

Outside of the courtroom, Spencer admits to his father that his previous support of Esme in all of this was an act to try to get her to slip up and confess to him. He says he never believed Trina would hurt her friends that way. He gets very worked up and it’s obvi he’s spiraling. 

Trina preps to finally give her testimony as court goes back into session, and she shares some longing looks with Spencer. She tells everyone that she was at the cemetery that day to work on an art history project, and never expected/was shocked to see Spencer there, as he was supposed to be incarcerated. When asked why she kept that alibi a secret, she emotionally shares that she hoped there would be enough evidence to prove her innocence without having to jeopardize his future/harm him. Her lawyer openly suggests that this was an act of love. At this point Trina and Spencer are both visibly emotional. She asks some more clarifying questions about how Trina was feeling during that trip, and after confirming that Trina did not have romantic feelings for Cameron, Trina confesses that she DID feel that way about Spencer, which puts a smile on his face for the first time this whole episode. 

Meanwhile, Ava and Esme have gotten into a full blown physical altercation over a mysterious letter Esme was attempting to take with her. This results in Ava pushing Esme off the balcony. Nikolas arrives just afterward, and goes looking for Esme and/or her body, and she has DISAPPEARED. Ava and Nikolas scheme to make themselves look as innocent as possible. 

Trina continues her testimony, and recounts the details of how they met, claiming that nothing ever happened between them, she no longer has romantic feelings for him, and how she figured he only ever saw her as a friend. She shares that Esme knew how Trina felt and was suspicious of their friendship, and gives some details about Esme’s history of shady behavior/her involvement in the stalking/torturing of Ava Jerome. She also reiterates how much Joss/Cam’s friendship means to her and that she’d never do anything to hurt them, especially something so heinous and violating as revenge porn. The prosecutor asks about how much she had to drink, and Trina shares her experience of feeling awful after just one drink. It’s so painfull obvious that Trina was roofied idk why people aren’t coming to that conclusion. Apparently Trina did go visit Spencer in prison once while Esme happened to be there interning, and shares that her purse was out of her sight at one point and Esme possibly planted the burner phone in her bag at that time. When Trina finally leaves the stand, Spencer gives her an encouraging nod. 

After the trial is over, Rory tries to comfort Trina while Spencer lingers. Trina tries to say she owes him an apology, but he responds with “You owe me nothing, I should have spoken up from the start.” Spencer is promptly put under arrest for breaking out of prison, to which Trina tries to defend him. He tells her it’s ok and looks back at her as he’s taken away. 

Rory takes Trina to the pool club to unwind after the trial (lol) and she attempts to talk through her complicated feelings about what Spencer did. Apparently she was under the impression that he was on Esme’s side this whole time, so now she’s confused about him. She word vomits to Rory about how she’s convinced he’s not into her anymore, and Rory is very nice and tells her clearly that he’s into her and is just trying to be supportive. They share a kiss and low key establish that they want to be together.

While being questioned at the police station, Spencer recounts his motives for breaking out of prison, sharing his emotional turmoil at the thought of not being able to put flowers on his mother’s grave. When asked why he confessed now, he says “for Trina.” Nikolas arrives and the two debrief on how to proceed, and Spencer asks his father to make sure Esme doesn’t leave town. Nikolas confesses that she disappeared, but doesn’t share the details. 

Many episodes go by and we’re still waiting to hear the jury’s decision on Trina’s trial. Spencer is offered a plea deal but denies it so he won’t have to name names in who helped him escape. He’s going to opt to do 3 months in prison instead. 

Spencer shows up to Trina’s sentencing and they have a conversation about the whole situation. He basically insinuates he did all of it for her to have a chance to be free. 

Backin it up a second, Esme bought the burner phone from this guy named Oz or Ozzy that Trina and Joss tried to get info from many many episodes ago. He got spooked and confronted Esme, and she drugged HIM, making him slip into a coma. He was found by Trina’s dad and was being treated at GH, and Dr. Robinson found a way to wake him up so he could testify against Esme in court. His testimony immediately absolves Trina and the charges are dropped. Everyone takes a moment to congratulate Trina on her victory, and Spencer is the last to talk to her. The flirtmance is back for a moment, and he tells her how happy he is that she’s exonerated. She asks him to finally tell her what “changed”(bc she still didn’t believe that he was truly on her side until recently) to which he responds, “everything.” He starts to try to tell her something that seems important, saying he’s waited for this moment for so long but now he’s tongue tied. Before he can say it though, Trina’s parents interrupt them. When they get back to talking, he tells her that’s he’s going to prison for 3 months, that it’s what he deserves, and that it’s worth it because he was able to help her. Tragically, she’s still hung up on the fact that he ever appeared to be on Esme’s side, and Spencer asks him to hear his explanation, but RORY walks in and he loses his chance. She tells him she’s sorry he has to go back to prison, but she wishes he’d realized who Esme really was “sooner.” 

Cameron and Josslyn yell at Spencer for not explaining the full story to Trina and not coming forward sooner. He explains that he “needed to be the one that saved Trina because…” and hesitates. Joss pushes him to explain and assumes selfish reasons, and he responds, “no because I LOVE HER.” Spencer walks out of the court room just in time to see Trina and Rory kissing and confirming that they want to be together. Spencer sulks back into the room with Joss and Cam and they ask him how it went to which he regails what he just saw. They tell him that Trina deserves to know the truth and he responds that she “deserves to be HAPPY. For god sake, I haven’t been able to give that to her. The only thing that I’ve given her is lies and grief.” He goes on to say that he shouldn’t step on what she and Rory have and mess with her head by confessing his feelings for her, especially since he’s about to go to prison. Joss continues to push him to tell her the truth and he gets upset, saying “Why does she need to know that I’ve always believed in her and that I love her? Don’t put that on her, it doesn’t matter.” He makes them both promise not to tell her anything. 

Spencer goes to apologize to his friend Brit that he mistreated long ago to make amends before he goes to prison. He explains the whole Trina situation to her and she questions why he doesn’t want to try to get her back. He tells her “She was never mine to lose. I never had her. I never deserved her.” 

Spencer runs into Trina and Rory at the pool club and she asks for an update from the DA, expressing outrage at how harsh his sentence is for only escaping for a few hours. His only response is “I’m only sorry that I didn’t defend you sooner.” Rory offers to try to help him look into some sort of alternate assignment, and Spencer is very humble about it. He says to her “it’s good to see you happy Trina” before excusing himself. Later, he’s getting emo on the stairs when his dad finds him, and Spencer shows some emotional maturity about the situation. He feels like a failure for not doing enough for Trina sooner, but he thinks not telling her the full truth will preserve her happiness. He’s finally becoming a soft boi. 

Spencer overhears Ava calling out Nikolas for having sex with Esme, much to his horror. He literally breaks down in tears, and he has a very emotional confrontation with Nikolas. They go through the greatest hits of all their betrayals and Nicholas acts his ass off. Spencer gets schwasted and starts confronting every family member he comes across. 

Ava is hospitalized and unconscious I think due to an attempted murder by a mysterious figure. When Trina finds out, she’s upset ofc and makes her way to the hospital to show support. Coming off his own drunken stupor, Spencer finds out about Ava and is immediately worried about Trina being upset and dashes off to the hospital to make sure SHE is ok. “I’m sorry that Ava got hurt, mostly because it hurts you.” “I figured you’d be here.” “You’re here for me?” “Always.” 

Spencer vaguely opens up to Trina about his dad’s betrayal, and she CARESSES HIS ARM and tells him they can talk about it if he wants to. He grasps her hand for just a moment before forcing himself to pull away. 

When he gets home from the hospital, Spencer takes a nap and has a nightmare where Esme antagonizes him about sleeping with his father and framing Trina. Nightmare Esme also antagonizes him about how Trina will never choose him, which greatly upsets Spencer/sends him spiraling. 

The night before he goes to prison, Spencer decides to write Trina a letter telling her the truth about how he knew she was innocent, and that he has always believed in her.

Trina’s family throws her a party to celebrate the charges being dropped, and Spencer shows up to deliver his letter to her, but changes his mind. Trina notices that he’s arrived and goes to talk with him alone. He’s so clearly down bad for her, but Trina maintains they can’t be friends after everything that’s happened, but she does appreciate the sacrifice he made for her. She wants to move on from the whole experience, and that means distancing herself from Spencer. She does give him a hug and tells him to take care of himself in prison. As Spencer goes to leave the party, he drops his letter and Trina picks it up before he can snatch it back. She demands an explanation, and they start an argument that ends with a heart to heart where they clear the air a bit, and Spencer apologizes formally for all the damage/pain he caused her. 

Trina goes to visit Ava in the hospital. Ava can see that she has some complicated feelings about Spencer, and shares that Spencer confessed to her that he always believed Trina was innocent, and was only staying with Esme to try to get her to confess. She also tells her that Spencer has “carried a torch” for Trina for a long time, and in his own “boneheaded” way, was trying to protect her by keeping her at arm’s length. He was also afraid that showing her his true feelings would cause Esme to hurt Trina more. While Ava expresses that she by no means wants to advocate for Spencer, it’s clear that he genuinely loves Trina and she can’t deny that. Trina, clearly reeling from this information, remembers that Spencer is set to go to prison that day, and rushes to the police station to see him off, but by the time she gets there, it’s too late. 

Spencer is on the struggle bus in prison bc everyone is bullying him for being a privileged white man. His Uncle Victor comes to visit him and can tell he’s not doing well, and offers to get a message to Trina, which Spencer denies, adamant that letting her move on is what’s right. He has a job at the prison library and one guy attacks him bc apparently Spencer was given HIS job after he worked 12 years to get it. The guy is on the verge of crushing Spencer’s hand when an old guy comes in and gets all spiritual, and intimidates the mean guy with the power of the Lord? Idk turns out this old guy is actually Spencer’s Uncle Cyrus who tries to convince him to seek religion in exchange for his protection

Esme discreetly comes back into town and is creeping around. She confronts Nikolas about all that has gone down, and reveals to him that she is pregnant with his child. He thinks she is the mysterious serial stabber terrorizing port charles, who has coincidentally murdered/attacked people who were involved in Trina’s trial. She swears she’s not the killer, but Nikolas locks her in a storage wing of the family estate to be cautious. 

Joss and Cam go to visit Spencer in prison, and he finds out that Trina was told the truth about him believing her innocence. However, he was hurt to know that she found out the truth and didn’t come to him, but Joss explains that Trina found out the day he was transported to prison. They give him details about what she’s been up to, and though it’s obviously killing him, he expresses that he’s happy that she's living her life. The three friends end up having a heart-to-heart moment about their various life mistakes, and it’s clear that Spencer needed some emotional support.

Rory and Trina go on their first overnight trip together to a comic convention in NYC. Trina likes Rory, but she’s been hesitant to take any big steps with him, and had to convince herself that she wanted to go on this trip. When they arrive at their hotel room, they’re surprised to find that there’s only one bed when Rory booked 2 doubles. While they wait for an extra cot to be delivered, the two start making out. Things start getting a little heavy, and she suddenly hears SPENCER’S voice say “Do you want me as much as I want you?” and looks up to see him hovering over her instead of Rory. He smiles down at her and says “Tell me you feel the same way.” Trina is petrified and pushes him off, only for it to snap back to Rory looking worried that Trina has suddenly gotten so upset. Later that night as they’re falling asleep in their respective beds, Trina’s phone lights up with a call from a NY state correctional facility, and it’s SPENCER trying to call her. Even though she doesn’t pick up, Spencer still smiles as he walks away from the phone. 

Trina and Joss are having girl time, and she admits to Joss what happened during her makeout with Rory. Joss openly tells her that her thinking of Spencer while making out with someone else is a sign that she still has feelings for him. Trina gets defensive, reiterating all of the reasons Spencer isn’t right for her. Then Joss shares that she and Cam went to visit Spencer, and that all he could talk about was Trina and wanted to know how she was. Joss also shares that he was hurt that Trina hadn’t reached out now that she knows the truth. Trina is still adamant that she put her efforts into a relationship with a good guy like Rory. 

The police commissioner stops by to let the girls know that their is sufficient evidence to link the Hook Killer with Trina’s legal case, as they have been going after those involved in the trial, and apparently Josslyn is possibly next on the killer’s hit list. The girls will have to be under close supervision for the foreseeable future to keep them safe, which will include moving back home from college temporarily. 

Some days go by, and Trina finds out from Cam that Esme is back in town, much to her horror. Her and Cam also discuss Spencer’s mysterious letter and its contents. She asks him specifically what he really “confessed” in his letter and Cam tells her she’ll have to ask Spencer herself. 

Spencer gets a visit from his grandmother in prison, and it seems to lift his spirits a bit. He’s confused when he’s called back in to the visiting room, and is STUNNED to see Trina waiting for him. He IMMEDIATELY gets all bashful and starts messing with his hair and smiling like a FOOL. Neither of them say anything for a hot second, they just make googly eyes at each other. They come back to earth and start talking, and Trina says that she hopes that she’s not too late, to which he responds “for what?” looking very concerned. Things are a little bit tense, but Trina shares that she wants to find a way to salvage their friendship. “Are you offering me the chance to fix things between us?” Trina demands that he tell her what he confessed in his letter. In that moment he decides to tell her to her face that he knew she was always innocent. They start arguing about how he lied to save her, and Trina expresses frustration at people not thinking she can take care of herself, and lying to her to “protect her,” to which Spencer retorts, “I have a lot to apologize for Trina, but protecting you? I’m not going to apologize for THAT.” She tells him that she understands why he did what he did, but that she would have felt MORE protected with him by her side. “It hurt that you thought so little of me, when I thought so MUCH of you.” They keep fighting and Trina accuses him of never being clear with her about his feelings and never tried to tell her. He says how this whole conversation would’ve been much easier over the phone, and how he DID try to call her, but she didn’t pick up. Trina tells him that she was at a comic convention, to which Spencer replies, “You? Since when are you interested in X-Men?” She says “I’m not. Rory is.” and Spencer is pissed. Clearly jealous, he presses her further. “Did you and Officer Cabrera have FUN in New York?” When Trina reminds him they’re not talking about her and Rory, Spencer quickly says “we might as well, Cabrera’s a good guy, better than most. I’m glad for you, you deserve a good guy.” He gets out of his chair to leave, telling the guard they’re done, to which Trina yells, “No, we’re NOT.” As they’re made to say goodbyes, Spencer does drop the anger for a moment and tells her to be careful with Esme back in town. Trina starts crying and asks to tell him one last thing, that she’s grateful for what he did for her, and that she knows what he meant by it.” 

At the beginning of December 2022, Nikolas and Uncle Victor go to visit Spencer, who is now rockin a nice new hairdo. Nikolas expresses his sorrow for being a terrible father to Spencer, and begs to have a place in his life when he gets out of prison, to which Spencer responds “I would settle for not having to listen to another one of these disingenuous speeches.” Nikolas leaves, and Uncle Victor and Spencer get into a spat about some grand plan he’d cooked up for the family idk. He brings in Uncle Cyrus for backup. I think Uncle Cyrus is Spencer’s grandmother’s brother? And Uncle Victor at one point was involved in a murder attempt on her and their other brother. Spencer is horrified at this accusation, but doesn’t seem to believe it. He’s clearly a game piece in this duel between these two old men. 

Later, Uncle Cyrus is chatting with Spencer about repentance and redemption, and gives him an early christmas present of two turtle dove figurines, and tells him to give one to Trina as a token of his affection. Spencer grins and remarks that Trina would love these, but he can’t give it to her, because Trina has her life back “the life she deserves” and he can’t get in the way of that. When his uncle presses him he says “All I’ve brought Trina is pain and heartache, so the best gift I can give her is to stay as far away from her as possible.” Uncle Cyrus compels Spencer to take the doves anyway. Uncle Victor returns to let Spencer know he’s arranged for his EARLY release, much to his shock. Before he departs, Uncle Cyrus tells Spencer to let him know if he decides to give half of the gift to the “one who has his heart.” 

While out Christmas shopping with Ava, Trina runs into Rory and he reminds her that it’s their 3-month anniversary. This brings up some weird emotions for Trina, who confesses to Ava how she knows that Rory is a great guy, but can’t stop thinking about Spencer. 

Spencer is taken home and reveals to his father that he’s on a conditional release where he must be under supervision. Uncle Victor’s plan was to keep watch over him at the family estate, but Nikolas, who is still hiding Esme in the storage wing, tells them they can’t stay there, prompting yet another screaming match between father and son. Spencer and Victor storm out to go to dinner.

Rory and Trina are having a fancy anniversary dinner. During their lovey dovey chat session, Rory asks Trina if she’ll join him for his family’s upcoming Christmas festivities. Trina seems apprehensive about meeting Rory’s parents, and he tries to assure her it’ll be good and not too serious. She ultimately decides that she’ll go with him, much to Rory’s delight. Over dessert, Rory admits to Trina that he is in love with her, and at first she “doesn’t hear him,” making him repeat himself. She looks at him in shock, just as SPENCER walks in and looks at them in distress. Trina doesn’t know what to say to Rory’s love confession, and Rory goes into more detail about his feelings for her. Spencer overhears this and says to his uncle, “I think I’ve lost my appetite.” Rory presents Trina with a present to represent his love for her (I think a perfume???) and just as Trina looks up to thank Rory, Spencer is standing right behind him, with a smirk on his face. Trina is stunned to see Spencer, and he explains about his early release from prison, coming over to her side of the table. Ho owns up to the fact that his family connections made it possible. Spencer lets them get back to their dinner, but not before pulling out the gift box with the doves in it and contemplating it for a second. Uncle Victor makes Spencer sit down at their own table, but he cannot stop staring over at Trina, clearly distraught that he overheard Rory tell her he loves her. Rory gets a work call and has to excuse himself, to which Uncle Victor reminds Spencer that opportunities must be seized. Spencer gets up and sits down in Rory’s place and asks Trina “can we start over?” Trina, frustrated, tells him she doesn’t know if that’s possible, which Spencer admits is fair. He says that he knows her and Rory are in the middle of something special, and if he’d known she was going to be here with her boyfriend he would’ve have had his uncle take him elsewhere “especially after I heard what Rory said to you. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, he practically announced it to the entire restaurant. Not that I blame him, if I was in his place, I’d want to tell everyone too.” Trina weirdly tells him it’s not what he thinks it is (bby girl then WHAT is it??) to which Spencer responds, “When a guy takes you out to one of the best restaurants in town, and he tells you that he loves you, what else could that mean?” Rory walks back in as Trina is rattling off all of his positive attributes to Spencer, clearly a bit defensive. Spencer gets up to rejoin his uncle, telling Trina is was great to see her. 

Spencer gets home and is in a TIZZY, having flashbacks of his convo with Trina and trying to get himself drunk to forget. Also his hair is super floppy. His dad finds him raiding the liquor cabinet and tries to have a conversation, but Spencer is being his typical contrary self. He does end up opening up to his dad a bit about what happened, telling him that Trina doesn’t want to be friends and “Deputy Do-Gooder” told her he loved her. “You should have seen her, so content and at peace, adored by someone who is worthy of her.” Spencer starts recounting all the ways he’s hurt Trina, including that “my ex-girlfriend DRUGGED her and then FRAMED her for filming that video.” (he gets real upset at that one) He says he understands why Trina rejected him, “because she’s finally found someone with the courage to confess that he loves her.” Nikolas tries to suggest that it’s not too late but Spencer doesn’t believe it, thinking Trina must love Rory back. His father implores him to hold out hope.

Trina is also home from her date and reeling from Spencer’s words. Ava comes over and she asks her to stop her from “making a big mistake.” She expresses to Ava that what her heart wants could lead to more heartache, and Ava is empathetic. She tells her to follow her heart, and she’ll support her no matter what. After Ava leaves, Trina pulls out her phone and texts Spencer, “welcome home.” Spencer receives the text, smiles, and immediately puts down his drink telling his dad, “I won’t need that drink anymore.” His dad asks if there’s good news to which Spencer replies, “hold on to hope.” 

Trina and Joss are hanging out and discussing her date with Rory, and Trina ultimately confesses that his “I love you” scared her and made her realize that while she likes him a lot, she’s not in love with him, at least not yet. Joss suggests that it’s not time holding her back, but her feelings for Spencer. Trina rejects that notion, but admits that everytime she looks at Spencer, she gets this feeling she can’t describe, and a part of her “wakes up.” Trina says that while she’s drawn to Spencer, she wishes she wasn’t, and she doesn’t have that same pull with Rory that she wished she did. She starts to question if Rory’s general goodness is enough for her, and is it fair to string him along if she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. She tells Joss “I don’t want to date Rory just because I can’t have Spencer, I don’t even WANT Spencer.” To which Joss responds, “but you do.” Trina then admits, “yes I do.” Trina ultimately decides that she has to be honest with Rory about how she’s feeling and goes to the police station looking for him. 

Rory is out investigating a lead on the Hook Killer, and gets HOOKED BY THE HOOKER. Another guy investigating finds him bleeding out. Back up arrives and they take him to General Hospital to be treated. 

Spencer went to visit Cam at work and they discuss the details of his early release from prison and his plans for the future. Spencer has it in his head that he should go back to Europe because “nothing is keeping him” in Port Charles. He gets into an altercation with this guy Dex who’s one of his uncle’s henchmen upon learning that he’d put Joss in danger.  As he’s leaving, he runs into Trina, who’s been out looking for Rory. She can tell that he’s upset/frustrated and tries to comfort him, telling him that at least his heart was in the right place this time. He tells her he’s thinking about leaving Port Charles for good, because he feels like everyone hates him here and it no longer qualifies as home. Trina yells at him that there are people here that DO care about him. Spencer has convinced himself that he is nothing but a disappointment, which Trina finds sad and untrue. It seems that Trina is about to confess her feelings to him, when Curtis shows up telling them there’s been another attack and that it was Rory. 

They all rush to GH to see if Rory’s ok, but he’s lost a lot of blood and is not doing too hot. They roll him out of surgery and Trina cries and runs over to him, distraught and apologetic. Rory removes his oxygen mask to tell her that it was too soon to tell her how he felt, but he’s not sorry that she knows. Rory then immediately flatlines. They rush him back into surgery, and Trina is hysterical, and Joss and Cam’s attempts to comfort her are failing. Dr. Robinson comes out and shares that Rory didn’t make it, and Trina is devastated. Everytime they pan to Spencer he looks like he can’t stand not being able to comfort her. Trina tells her mom she wants to be alone and goes to the hospital chapel to sob. 

Back out in the lobby Spencer confesses to Cam that he feels like an asshole for being so envious of Rory a few days ago, to which Cam tells him, “it’s not your fault that you love her too.” Some other convos happen throughout the night, but ultimately Spencer tells Cam he’s going to stay to support Trina, and he’s not going anywhere until Esme is found. 

A week or so later, Spencer comes home and his dad asks him how’s feeling, and he expresses that he feels totally useless and helpless because he wants to support Trina but knows his presence would just cause more pain right now. Nikolas confesses that he’s serving Ava divorce papers and that he slept with someone else, Cameron’s mother, Elizabeth. Spencer is disgusted with his father for taking advantage of Elizabeth’s many personal struggles. Nikolas admits that they are full on seeing each other, and Spencer tells him he didn’t think it was possible to think LESS of his father, but here we are. Spencer continues to go in on his dad, shaming him for being “A man who would use a woman’s emotional problems to try to move in on her.” He tells his dad that he has proved time and time again that they’re family bond is unsalvageable. He vows to get as far away from his father as possible as soon as his sentence is fully up. He tells Nikolas that the one good thing about this is that it’s made him determined to be a better man than him. 

Trina’s family tries to lift her spirits with Christmas festivities. Her and Joss have a heart to heart by the fireplace and Trina expresses her guilt over how responsible she feels for Rory’s death. Josslyn is very supportive but makes sure she knows that she is not to blame, and that it’s ok to live her life. While making ornaments with her mom, Trina makes one in Rory’s memory and seems ready to look forward while honoring what she lost. 

Spencer is invited to a christmas eve get together with some extended family, and he asks who I think is an aunt how he can distance himself from the Cassadine drama/toxicity. She gives him some great advice about finding his own way in the world, and seeing a healthy family dynamic seems to move him. He graciously departs, telling them he has someone he needs to go see. Trina is shown going towards her door and finds Spencer, who tells her merry christmas and smiles. 

Spencer goes full love actually vibes on Trina’s doorstep. She thought he was leaving town but he tells her, “I was going to because I thought there was nothing here for me anymore, and I was wrong. But if you want me to go, just say the words and I’ll leave you alone.” Trina doesn’t say anything for a beat, and so Spencer starts to back off when Trina simply says, “shoes off,” inviting him in. For reference, Trina very much has shoes on in her own house.

She opens up to him about how her family tried and failed to lift her spirits, and he listens very well. She shares that her actual christmas wish is for the last few days to just be a bad dream, and Spencer expands that to the last few years on his end, saying he’d change everything. Trina asks, “everything?” to which he responds, “everything except coming back to Port Charles, because then I never would have met you.” 

They start discussing the whole serial killer situation, and Spencer fully believes it’s Esme. He wants to offer himself up as bait to lore Esme out of hiding and Trina is NOT ok with that. She can’t deny that there’s potential to his idea, but she thinks it’s missing one thing, herself. Trina suggests that the two of them together would enrage Esme the most, so they should seem as if they’ve turned to each other following Rory’s death. Spencer says “absolutely not” because it would put Trina in danger, and she calls him out on that double standard of risk. Trina insists that they would be “stronger together” and asks if he’s in or not, and they shake on it. As he goes to leave, snow is falling, and Trina brushes snow from Spencer’s nose.

The day after Christmas, Spencer and Trina put their FAKE DATING scheme into motion, letting themselves be photographed by the press with his grandmother. Everyone notices that they’re suddenly cozy, and when his grandmother asks him what’s going on, Spencer tells her, “When you said that I’m a better person than I think, I vowed to live up to those words. I wanna be worthy of your faith in me.” She reminds him to be the good man she knows he is and he says, “that’s exactly what I’m doing.” Spencer and Trina make conspiratorial eyes at each other. Spencer’s grandmother also reminds him how he’s hurt Trina in the past to which he responds, “I haven’t forgotten about what I’ve done in the past. But I swear to you that I will never hurt Trina again, and neither will anyone else.” 

Trina and Ava have a meeting at Kelly’s, and Spencer walks in. Spencer pulls Ava aside and makes an honest, earnest apology to her, letting her know his reasons for acting the way he did. He also assures her that just wants to “help Trina get through this.” Ava departs, and Spencer and Trina discuss their grand plans for this fake dating scheme. They’re going to attend a friend’s new years eve party to be seen publicly together. The flirtmance is back in action for the first time in many moons.

That night at the party (which is being held on a boat) Spencer is waiting for Trina to arrive, and tells her she looks beautiful when she does. Their primary plan is to make Esme jealous enough to come out hiding, and when Trina reminds him of this he says “one look at you and mission accomplished.” and they take a selfie together. They run into Spencer’s Uncle Sonny and they express condolences to Trina for Rory’s death. Spencer openly praises Rory’s character, saying that he was a good support system for Trina when she needed it. She thanks him for those kind words and for helping her bring his killer to justice, to which he says “I’d do anything for you, you know that.” He does acknowledge that because he brought Esme to Port Charles in the first place, he feels a responsibility to get rid of her once and for all. Trina has a moment of revelation, and starts to wonder if Esme is really the one behind the killings. Seeing as it’s cold outside on the deck, Spencer puts his coat around Trina’s shoulders and arranges her hair out from underneath it very tenderly, and softly whispers “there ya go.”. She tells him he doesn’t have to do that since noone is watching and he says “can’t I be a good friend while also being a gentleman?” Trina tells Spencer that she didn’t mean when she told him they couldn’t be friends at her party, explaining that she was just upset and hurt at the time. Spencer says he’s glad to hear that they can still have a chance to be friends. 

They start to go inside and Trina wants to develop a story for why they’re together, and they go back and forth suggesting ideas. Spencer suggests that the buzz can be that they “stole some time alone together” to which Trina says people will assume she got emotional and needed some air to which Spencer says “yeah and I had to come out and check on you,” and Trina “leaned on you for comfort.” Spencer starts playing with her coat buttons and says “something about heightened emotions and twinkling lights…” “and waves and stars and the warmth of your arms as you held me…” “brought back all of those old feelings…the ones we never acted on.” 

They snap out of writing their own fanfiction to finally go in to the party, and Spencer takes her hand to lead her inside, but someone is watching them. This picks up in the following episode and the scene cut is different, with Trina saying they should go inside and Spencer asking for “just a little longer, we want people to miss us” while grasping her hand. Trina reminds him that they’re playing a dangerous game, and Spencer caresses her hand and says, “it’s not all a game.” She convinces him to go back into the party, but the Hook killer is right behind them on the deck. Right as they’re about to attack, Zenon finds them and calls to them, asking what they’re doing outside. They give their nonchalant reasons while Spencer puts one hand on Trina’s back and the other on her arm, “casually” keeping her close to him. 

Inside the party, Spencer introduces Trina to his friend Brit (who the party is for) and the exchange is very sweet and wholesome. Spencer then twirls Trina on to the dance floor like a goob. Spencer is a terrible dancer but it’s actually adorable. As the clock strikes midnight on new years, Spencer seems like he’s going in for a kiss but blows a party kazoo in Trina’s face, making her giggle. 

Back at the Cassadine estate, Esme develops a grand plan to escape from the wing Nikolas is keeping her in by setting her small Christmas tree on fire. Her plan works and before Nikolas can stop her, she jumps over the balcony YET AGAIN despite being very pregnant.

[mmmkaybye]

Why Zutara Shippers are Wrong (JK, You can ship who you want lol)

(Although, I don't care if you do actually ship Zutara, that's your prerogative, I'm just waiting for better arguments for the relationship and for people to stop negatively viewing Kataang)

First of all, I'm premising this with the fact that I don't think that ATLA should have ended with Katara and Aang kissing. I think it would have been fine to just end with a slightly more intimate-than-friends hug/cuddle. I would have personally preferred that two children who survived being literal child soldiers get the chance to be kids before they delve into a more mature relationship with one another, but they didn't exactly have adults of the modern culture there to guide them a different way, now did they?

BUT! I am a firm believer that Zuko and Katara would never have worked out romantically and that Katara and Aang's relationship 1. makes more sense and 2. is actually healthier in the scope of trauma and trauma responses.

First of all, I don't understand how the creators of ATLA managed to craft literally the MOST traumatic childhood backstory ever with incredible detail and nuance and everyone just fricking glosses over it like WTF??? Not to mention, the creators did an amazing job diversifying trauma responses to similar trauma experiences.

Let's discuss Katara's childhood trauma, which was not healed magically after a little side quest with Zuko. Katara carries immense survivor's guilt over her mother's murder. Katara understands very well how and why her mother was brutally murdered in their family home. She has been deeply aware of this since the day of her mother's murder - and she fully blames herself. Katara understands that a fire nation soldier killed her mother, but he killed her because of Katara - she said so herself. Then, Katara, who was the last person to interact with her mother, discovers her mother's body, and it is insinuated that Katara might have even witnessed her mother's brutal execution-style murder. This forever alters Katara down to her core personality traits. Katara is 'bossy' because of her trauma. I work with kids from pre-k through graduating american high school. It's pretty normal for girls to do what I call 'mothering' to their peers and to kids younger than them. It often is described as being 'bossy' and some girls are in fact bossy, but for the most part, they are roleplaying a caretaker mentality as they are most familiar with. In Katara's deep guilt of being the reason her mother was murdered, her trauma response was burden herself with the role of mother. This is further antagonized when her father leaves with the rest of the adult men to fight against the Fire Nation. He might've well as died too due to lack of communication for many years. Sokka does not allow Katara to mother him for very long, so she doesn't get to have a chance to work through her personal trauma response to her grief because she has no one to safely and consistently direct these mothering tendencies towards. The other children in the village are not orphans, their mothers are most likely very alive and very involved with them, so they would be temporary fillers at best. Sokka has stepped into the role of village man and definitely would reject Katara's mothering, which often led to tension between the siblings. Toph had the very reaction to Katara's mothering tendencies as I expect a young Sokka had to them. He lost his mother, too, he didn't want a replacement, nor did he want to lose his sister to the role of mother.

Zuko, in the same fashion as Sokka, had a mother who he loved, and lost, and was not looking to replace. Zuko's mother was also a topic that is deeply rooted in a lot of Zuko's personal trauma as well. Zuko did not get to spend much time with Katara for her mothering tendencies to be extended over him, but he definitely would have aggressively rejected them as Katara's trauma response would have negatively triggered his own. Their trauma would have deeply and negatively impacted any romantic relationship they could have developed because of how they would react to each other. Their relationship would have crashed and burned very quickly.

On top of that. Katara would have never left the South Pole indefinitely - that is her home, and she consistently returned to it throughout her life. That is an effect of her cultural upbringing. Zuko couldn't leave the Fire Nation, and as we saw in the graphic novels that followed, Zuko's personal welfare suffered greatly because his whole world was upended and now he was responsible for the one nation that didn't get peace at the end of the war. It's incredibly naive and slightly delusional for people to desperately push romantic wishes upon a sixteen-year-old boy who was burdened with the responsibility of healing an entire nation, one that fought him every step of the way in many aspects. He did not have the emotional energy to expend upon a frivolous relationship. That's why Mai and he broke up, not because they didn't love each other, but because Zuko simply could not have personal relationships until his reign and nation had stabilized - that alone would take upwards of 10 years. Plus, Zuko may have helped others work through parts of their trauma, but he had to address his trauma too, which we saw the beginnings of during the graphic novels. Simply put, by the end of ATLA and all of the graphic novels, Zuko was in no place emotionally, mentally, and even physically and politically to seek out a relationship that was meaningful and healthy. And I know that Zuko would have changed the tradition of political marriage, at the very least he deserves to have married for love at the end of everything he suffered through. Zuko is a great opportunity to normalize waiting until you're in your mid-twenties -thirties before seeking out romantic relationships. Logistically speaking, I don't think there would have been much opportunity for romantic feelings to develop between the two of them. I especially don't think Katara would have easily been able to live in the Fire Nation because the Fire Nation was directly responsible for her trauma, and that is also why I don't think she would have every pursued a relationship with a Fire Nation man, Zuko or not.

Now onto Aang. Everyone always jumps onto this idea that Katara and Aang had a very mother-son relationship - which is wrong. Aang comes from a culture that literally does not have mother and fatherhood. There are NO mothers and fathers in the Air Nomad Nation. Sure, kids had birth parents, but parenthood was not part of their culture, nor did Aang ever seek out that kind of relationship. Aang may have been kid-like, but he was the most adultified kid in the group. He was incredibly independent and confident in his ability to travel internationally by himself at 12. Katara had never thought to leave the South Pole to seek out a waterbending master in the North Pole because she didn't have that confidence or training. The Air Nomads thrived on a mentorship-based village raising of children. So, Aang never thought of Katara as his mother. He literally couldn't, because he had no scope of reference for such a relationship, same with fatherhood. He never had a parental relationship with Monk Gyasto. It was more like a fun uncle mentorship. I think that's why everyone thinks Aang was a bad father, but he was an outlier in the Air Nomad nation because there was no Air Nomad nation when he had children. The village that raised the children in his culture was gone. He was actually a fairly decent father and the two older children probably felt bitter because Tenzin was the only other air bender in existence so it obviously Aang is going to spend a lot of one on one time with Tenzin in the scope of mentoring Tenzin in the way of Air Nomad culture. Aang was not an absentee father like how many people assumed from the very one-sided and brief explanation given by the two older, jaded siblings. Was he perfect? No, he literally had no clue how to be a father. Did he and Tenzin leave to get milk and never come back? Also no. That being said, Aang was the only individual who was comfortable with Katara mothering him, he never felt threatened or overburdened by her trauma response, which allowed for Katara to genuinely work through her grief and mature out of the extreme bossy mothering we first saw in book one. If you pay attention, yes Katara does retain that 'bossy' kind of personality, but that was permanent fixture due to her childhood trauma and a little bit of cultural influence as well. I think, if Katara had never been traumatized, she would have always leaned towards a very soothing and nuturing type of personality, which we began to see in the middle of book three. Her bossiness/mothering trauma response gradually lessened the longer she 'mothered' Aang. Once again, neither of the two saw each other as Mother-son. They were simple too close in age and Aang also had the added sense of duty-boundness due to being the Avatar. Katara was always going to be a caretaker archetype personality, trauma or no, and that simply wasn't the type of person that Zuko would lean towards for a romantic relationship due to his own personal upbringing and culture. Aang is a much more gentle and playfully empathetic personality that works with Katara's firm care and sassy disposition.

In the graphic novels, I personally saw a great deal of healing and maturation in Katara in relation to her trauma. She was less mothering towards Aang, too, and I think that had a lot to do with the fact that Aang matured a lot as well and the change in their once platonic relationship to a more romantic-leaning one. Was their relationship perfect? No, they are kids who survived a horrific war and many many trauma-inducing situations. However, once Katara fully leaned away from the mothering habit, we get to see that Aang allows Katara to relax and be more playful. She genuinely was just happy with Aang. He pushed her to be a little more child-like and to have child-like fun even as they grew up into adulthood. Katara helped Aang mature and face a lot of adult burdens that were placed child.

In the end, Katara and Aang always brought out the best in each other. Katara and Zuko didn't have enough time together in ATLA to develop an individual relationship outside of the group. There simply isn't enough time outside of their little side-quest in which Katara and Zuko interact solo- which was definitely NOT Katara's best, and in fact was Katara lashing out aggressively towards people who loved and cared for her and she them. Zuko was also not his 'best' in that time either as he was also being triggered emotionally. In fact, during ATLA, there's way too much negative tension between the two of them that leads to really intense disagreements and emotional outbursts more often than not until Katara begrudgingly accepts Zuko into the group, they don't even positively interact until Ember Island which is what, two weeks? She's not exactly nice when she pretty much demands him to help her hunt down the man that murdered her mother. Zuko is all gung-ho about vengeance too. Of course, they both have a lesson learning moment, but that episode cemented in my brain that Aang is the better partner for Katara than Zuko. Aang, once again the most mature in the Gaang, fight me on this, has a deep, empathetic understanding of the world, he doesn't do a great job trying to explain to Katara, but I think that's because no one in the Gaang understands how Appa is not just an air bison, and Aang never views Appa as an air bison like how everyone else in ATLA do. To everyone else, Appa's an animal, but to Aang and Aang's culture that is deeply offensive, Appa is an individual with emotions and value outside of what he can offer the group in terms of transportation and that's never really explicitly clarified to the audience either (because despite being a kid's cartoon, the creators knew their audience well and did not treat the audience like we are stupid and can in fact infer and read between the lines). If Katara had killed that pathetic worm of a man, it would have absolutely destroyed her as a person. She would not have been able to heal from her trauma and would probably suffer even more trauma and guilt. This side-quest was a plot point to lead up to the big debate of killing Ozai, and not many, in fact I don't know if anyone has talked about that fact. I have no doubt that Zuko has probably killed people, at the very least, he's deeply desensitized to people dying as I think he probably at some point did experience or witness some form of warfare battle before he began chasing Aang down.

Once again, I don't really care if you do ship Katara and Zuko. In fact, I think that's a-okay. But, with the Netflix live action adaptation's take on the Secret Tunnel scene, I've seen a lot of people speculating and even hoping for it to become canon and there have even been some opinions of Kataang that have resurfaced that really rub me the wrong way because it feels like many individuals are just looking at the surface level of ATLA. There's so much nuance to each individual character in terms of culture, societal norms, age and gender, and most importantly, trauma and trauma responses. The creators did an amazing job world building and story telling that a lot of what I put up in my opinion in preference for Kataang over Zutara is information that I inferred from the show and graphic novels due to my personal experience and education in familial relationships and childhood trauma. My thoughts are not the end all be all to this debate, nor do I think they should be, I've seen some really solid opinions in favor of Zutara that I can understand and somewhat agree with. I think a lot of those details and moments that people look to as indicators of romance between Katara and Zuko were remnants of the creators' previous intention, but I think that the change to Aang and Katara as end game was logistically and realistically more accurate. I never thought that Katara and Zuko were meant to be, and I always struggled to put to words as to why until I had pursued my psych studies in college that focused on child development, childhood trauma, and marriage and family counselling. I think that the creators instinctually were seeing the red flags that would have occurred naturally within Zutara and changed course accordingly. There were just a lot of details and nuances that I noticed personally that I wished more people would discuss.

Anyways, thank you for coming to my TedTalk, I'd love to hear some of your opinions about this.

[givemeanaccountalready]

The Anti-Team 7, Formally Known as Team 6 (Komorebi)

First, I’d like to thank the wonderful @pumiih for drawing my little heathens. You made them (and Naruto) so beautiful.

It’s kind of funny. I picked the number 6 as their team number because Naruto would be the sixth Hokage (Kakashi is serving as Tsunade’s Jounin Commander for now) in my little AU world. I then learned that Team 6 was the number given to Jiraiya’s team with Minato and I thought, “Well, that’s a better reason to keep it as Team 6,” so here I am.

The Word doc that I made to actually plot this thing out to a degree has the title above for the Naruto-sensei arc. That’s somewhat touched on briefly before Naruto meets his team in the flesh, where he’s joking with Sakura that “This is their Sasuke, this is our you, and this is our me,” as the two of them look over the files Tsunade gave him. And he’s technically not entirely wrong about it lol. They just have really superficial connections to the OG Team 7. I even asked Pumiih to put them in the same order as the Team 7 picture. I haven’t posted it yet, but fic will be called Komorebi which translates to, “sunlight filtering through trees,” and I liked the imagery of that, so that’s the name.

Anti-Sasuke: Chitose Hyuuga 🍬 (prestigious clan with magic eyes)

Anti-Naruto: Kaito Isobe 🪁 (orphan, known troll)

Anti-Sakura: Tsurigane Kashiwagi 🔔 (girl)

I feel slightly bad for reducing Tsuri to that but I’m laughing too hard at the summary to care. She is probably the easiest anti-parallel to spot. Whereas Sakura didn’t really have an overarching goal until the Forest Death scene, Tsuri is the only one on Team 6 with an overarching dream/goal. She wants to gain Kage level strength, even though she doesn’t necessarily want the hat, and go down in history as a legendary kunoichi. Tsuri pretty much has a five year plan, meanwhile, Chitose is doing this ninja stuff because it’s what Hyuuga do, and Kaito is simply trying to earn a living until he finds something else that he likes. There is enough internalized misogyny in this girl to power a small village. You can thank her parents for that one. Tsuri despises fan girl behavior and she even lost a friendship over her best friend choosing to like and giggle over a boy. Eventually, she’ll reconcile with her, but for now, no. Very stubborn, very bull-headed, and very driven, Tsuri does not do things by halves.

Chitose is probably the least anti-parallel of the three, since her story revolves around bonds just like Sasuke’s had. Whereas Sasuke formed new bonds within Team 7 and wanted to protect them until Itachi and the Sound 4 happened, causing him to think he needed to sever his bonds and fuel his hatred to achieve his goals, Chitose’s story is a bit different. She wants to form bonds with others, and while she doesn’t have a deeply traumatic backstory, Chi definitely has some serious hang-ups stemming from the divide between the main branch and cadet branches of the Hyuuga family. She is not close to Neji or Hinata, but she has seen them grow into stronger, happier individuals because of their teammates and the work they do, and she wants that growth too.

While she does not have the Caged Bird Seal, Chi knows that’s only due to who her sensei is and not because the clan has changed its mind. Hinata is doing her best to change the Hyuuga’s ways after the war, but at the very beginning of the story, it seems more unlikely than not. Chi and the rest of Team 6 are about 6 years younger than Naruto so Chi couldn’t have possibly been sealed on Hinata’s third birthday like Neji was. She was going to get the Caged Bird once she either finished the Academy and became a kunoichi or sometime later if she had failed. The only reason she didn’t get sealed immediately after passing the graduation exam is because a certain someone told Hiashi that Naruto was being considered as a possible jounin leader and Hiashi wisely decided to hold off on it. The Hyuuga compound is still standing… for now.

Kaito is my lil goblin. He’s a snot-nosed brat whose fear of losing another loved one and screwy sense of self/self-worth resulted in his constant trolling and mouthing off. A little hater who graduated the Academy with two full time enemies and one part-time enemy, an unrequited rival (unrequited on Kaito’s part, he doesn’t want it). Like Naruto, he is stubborn and very perceptive of others’ emotions, but while Naruto clawed his way to acceptance and changing the way things are, Kaito is more content to crash and burn in the status quo. As a result, he does not have any big dreams or goals. If Tsurigane’s story is about learning to constructively use strength for herself and on behalf of others, and Chitose’s is about learning to let others in without making herself small to accommodate them, then Kaito’s story is about finding internal peace and taking the chance that the past won’t repeat itself.

I definitely spent too much time trying to think of what I wanted the other rookies besides Team 6 to look like. There’s three other rookie teams, and Shikamaru is the jounin leader for one. I just hope that they’ll be liked when I have enough written that I’m comfortable posting so I don’t have too much dead time in-between chapters.

And because I can… NaruSaku for the main ship. Team 6 ships it.

[verdantlights]

Modern AU Headcanons

For all 7 of my ocs!! :3

all of their ethnicities/nationalities are canon to the ALNST universe too, but theyre just more applicable in a modern au.

The artwork I did for each of them isnt fully colored like how i originally planned, simply because this took FUCKING FOREVER. (17 hours??? all 7 ocs just to this basic color with 17 hours and 25k strokes??? according to procreate???) and i was so ready to be done with it, ive been talking about this for like ages and i knew that if i didnt finish this before Blink Gone dropped,,,, itd never get finished.

i also have other stuff i need/want to work on in regards to my ocs SO. if the art looks half-assed, im calling it a design choice 🎀

Toki (Redone):

He'd be a dancer that runs a choreography channel on youtube and tiktok. A really popular/famous content creator.

He's Asian! (South Korean)

Fluent in English/Korean.

Would probably face a lot of controversy for making strange jokes about cannibalism, but he never stays down when cancelled. (hes so schlatt core)

He's not a horrible person in a modern au. He's relatively normal, if not for the fact that he is still an orphan and still clinically mentally ill. He's just not toxic. He still has his cunt and freak but... he just doesn't manipulate, mansplain, and manslaughter anymore.

He's only toxic and awful as hell in ALNST because of the dystopian circumstances. His toxicity is seasoning to the tragedy that is ALNST.

He is still an orphan and his first memories would be in the orphanage where he was pretty much alone. People thought he was strange.

I'd like to believe he was selectively mute for quite a long time, which was another reason why people called him strange.

Still has the habit of studying peoples behaviors and learning them entirely for his own benefit. He wouldn't use it against someone unless absolutely necessary in a modern au.

He gets adopted when he's 13 by a kind, older man. He homeschools Toki and puts him in sports and recreational activities of his choice.

Toki chooses gymnastics and dance, contorting and moving his body at his will gives him a sense of control that he always felt he was never privileged to.

He didn't start talking until he was 16. His first words were, "Thank you, dad."

As an adult, as I said above, Toki runs a choreo channel on tiktok and youtube that gets a lot of traction. He enjoys having fans because it makes him feel less alone.

He's still possessive over Inna, but it's only because Toki struggles with feeling a sense of belonging and a home to come back to, and Inna becomes that home for him.

He has a streetwear aesthetic!

Of course, Toki still has his obsessive and possessive personality, that will never go away. It ends up rearing his head towards Inna, but I'm pretty sure Inna likes it anyway, the 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴.

Didn't go to college because his socmed took off before he graduated, sustaining him really well financially.

Friends with Ichor! Travels to Korea with him sometimes, but usually prefers to stay in America since that's where he was taken to when he was adopted.

Innamorati belongs to @alien-til-i-stage <3

Clove:

He is Latino! (Dominican/Caribbean)

His right eye is a lazy eye and he wears glasses. They're silver round frames that he sometimes puts a neck chain on.

His hair is dyed the same, but the dark brown is really short and cut to be fluffy/messy while keeping his long sides/short bangs!

He has a dark academia aesthetic mixed with a little bit of cottagecore. He's a lot more comfortable in his skin in regards to his gender so he wears skirts and dresses sometimes.

Spends his time at the library a lot, enjoys library dates with Aster (and also coffee shop dates).

He is fluent in Spanish and English.

He only has his ear lobes pierced and keeps small silver studs in them at all times.

Still trans, of course! He gets top surgery and a hysterectomy in a modern au (projecting what I personally want lmao)

All of his siblings are alive, and are still all named after flowers!

His upbringing was really peaceful, if not for having a very alive and loud household with 6 kids, him included.

His parents and siblings are all incredibly accepting and they all helped pitch in to get his top surgery done for his birthday one year <3

He inherited his parents flower shop and runs it now! His parents own the parent company to the flower shop, so all 6 children own one of said shops around the state!

He majored in Biology in college.

A lot of the neglect and trauma he faced in ALNST/ANAKT was only specific to the universe. He would lead a relatively normal and peaceful life, otherwise :)

Aster belongs to @apriciticreveries <3

Horizon:

He is American!

Horizon is incredibly smart and is an astrophysicist! He took it in college and has been hyperfixated on space since he was a kid.

Is the most visibly/recognizably autistic OC out of all of my OCs. All of my OCs are neurodivergent in some way because of my own neurodivergency, but Horizon takes the cake because his modern au mother (based on Scorpius) is also autistic. She raised him to not be forced into a mask.

Scorpius is a single mom and loves space as well, teaching Horizon all about it when he was a kid. Over time she grew more distant and would only connect with her son when its about his interest in space, or in regards to what happens at NASA.

Horizon is aware of his mothers distance and neglect and wishes things could go back to when he was a kid and she wasn't so distant.

He is still a narcolept, but is medicated and in physical therapy to help combat it.

He works at NASA! He makes good money and has discovered a lot of new stars!

He's more vocal in a modern au! He'd still go nonverbal a lot, but he'd also open up more and be less distant.

He still yaps about stars and space as much as possible.

He does not have stars in his eyes. I kinda feel like that goes without saying, but he does have dark grey-blue eyes.

Fond of Seraph and likes to study it. Fully aware something is wrong with it and that it definitely does not belong in his world, but finds it intriguing all the same.

Does not have a set dress style, he mostly dresses for comfort. He does have a lot of NASA merchandise and space/galaxy themed clothing, though. (would 100% have that blue and pink galaxy wolf hoodie at one point)

Seraph:

Still not human, and I will not elaborate as to why!

Also still uses He/Hy/It (Hy/Hymn).

It's a lot creepier in a modern au, actually. This is because the dystopian setting of ALNST makes it a bit more... usual and acceptable for Seraph to be uncanny? However, in a modern au... that's not the case.

People do NOT vibe with it more often than not.

Hy is British.

He is still albino with void-like eyes.

It majors in psychology and went to the same college as Horizon. This is related to his special talent,,, but that isn't released yet. :)

Still horribly enamored with Horizon and follows him around and studies him.

Horizon doesn't mind hymn and honestly knows somethings not right with Seraph, but he doesn't really care and actually likes to study Seraph back. (and seraph couldnt be happier about it, tbh)

Not a lot changes about Seraph, in all honesty. Hy doesn't really belong in the ALNST universe, what makes you think hy'd belong in the modern universe?

The things that do change, like it's echoing voice and it's staticky/distorted laugh, are gone because it personally stopped using them.

It's style is... elegant goth with some... cyber goth? Kinda strange and hard to describe but he does understand the morals and values of goth culture and music and upholds those values.

Lowkey an anarchist but you didn't hear that from me.

He is Horizon's roommate.

Seraph likes to believe their mutual studying of each other is what a romantic relationship entails.

Horizon spoils Seraph a lot... he has to do something with the money he gets from NASA.

He still does not like animals or Ichor.

Ichor:

He is still a catboy. He's not even like... a kemonomimi. He's just a fucking catboy.

If not an actual catboy, he would be a therian and/or kemonomimi. (kemonomimi directly translates to animal ears i believe? kemonomimis are just people who enjoy wearing animal ears/tails.)

He is also Asian! (South Korean)

Has a lot of mixed aesthetics, but enjoys crossdressing (in a cute way) and ouji fashion/lolita.

Autistic with selective mutism and is nonverbal more often than not. He is fluent in both ASL and KSL as well as spoken English/Korean. This is canon to the ALNST universe, but he is fully mute in canon.

Would probably be a professional gymnast. I'm talking like Olympics... professional.

Takes the fame from being a professional gymnast and becomes a content creator to show off his impeccable fashion sense.

100% dating and smitten with Briar. I'm assuming Briar would be a doctor in a modern au (akane, you can correct me if I'm wrong), and if that's the case, then Ichor would make a bunch of "woe is me, I need a doctor" jokes to Briar.

He'd immediately go to Briar if he gets hurt during performances.

Would actually be friends with Toki!! Both as a content creator and as a gymnast. They would get along very well due to overlapping interests, even more so when Ichor learns that Toki was mute for a long time.

Sometimes takes up gigs/jobs as a Sign Translator for both KSL and ASL.

Recognized as a Fashion Idol in Korea.

Frequently travels back and forth between South Korea and America due to this. ^ (his boyfriend misses him...)

Also did not go to college! He went straight into professional gymnastics and makes a living off of it! If he could go back to school, though, he would want to study the arts!

All of his hair is naturally white! He was based off of a white Turkish Angora cat, and since his hair was dyed against his will in ALNST, that wouldn't be the case in the MAU. He's only pink in his art because that's his color <3

Briar belongs to @aakaneeee <3

Lys:

She is Creole and born and raised in Louisiana!

Fluent in both Cajun French and normal French. She was a French immersion kid! (as in she learned french as she learned english in school growing up)

An amazing cook and loves to cook for her family and friends.

Has a brother and a sister, but she is the oldest. She loves her family and is very protective over them, same with her friends.

A big party-goer and social butterfly, she is the life and light of the party. She stays humble about it, but she can't deny how nice it makes her feel that people like her so much.

Dominates karaoke like it's no ones business. She loves singing and was in the church choir growing up.

She grew up Catholic, but is currently Agnostic.

Still a lesbian, and is very open about it. She is a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and goes to as many Pride Parades as possible during pride month.

LOVES HER GIRLFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!! EVEREST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her favorite way to wear her hair is super long box braids with bright colored weave, usually orange or red, but she's done the whole rainbow before!

Majors in cosmetology!

Wants to be a fashion designer, and is also building a socmed presence!! Her childhood dream was to work at Hollywood as a SFX/Makeup artist! (She still kinda does, but is okay with working for any movie company, honestly)

Has a streetwear and Y2K aesthetic! She likes to explore a bunch of other fashion cultures, but normally ends up falling back to those two as a base/familiar ground.

Is really good friends with Clove! She knows him through Everest, who had befriended him in overlapping college courses. Clove approached Everest and became friends with him before she introduced Clove to Lys. They all like to hang out together :]

Everest:

She is Australiannnnn!!!!

Still albino!

She does have the sensitive skin and eyesight in the modern world, though. She is not genetically modified, therefore she has really powerful glasses and is covered a lot.

Wears a lot of loose flowy clothing and big sunhats to protect himself from the sun.

Also still intersex!

Still feels 60% femme and 40% masc with very little in between. Doesn't mind being referred to as androgyne, but prefers either or, rather than in between.

She is sapphic and horribly in love with her girlfriend, Lys.

Is a lot less morally grey in a modern au and is a lot more like Luna Lovegood, one of her inspirations.

His morality in ALNST comes from the dystopian setting, being used as a toy for the segyein after winning, and being a pet in general. Since that doesn't happen in the modern day, he doesn't have that trauma to influence him.

She takes second place on most visibly autistic. (Ichor takes third)

Majored in Chemistry and wants to be a chemist.

Has overlapping classes with Clove and is friends with him!

Comes from a pretty wealthy family and was raised prim and proper. Her parents believed she'd be better off presenting as a boy, but once she realized her autonomy, she refused it entirely and told her parents that she will live how she wants and that her body is hers to dictate.

Her parents don't like that she switches back and forth between masc and femme, but she could not give less of a fuck and honestly does it a little bit out of spite.

He still loves his parents... kinda. He has the mentality of "they gave me life and raised me, I should be grateful andlove them all the same." He just wishes they weren't so bitchy over his body and what he does with it. They can't say anything either considering he plans on being a chemist, and they're both very fond of the idea that their child is smart and will bring in more money.

They're also lowkey homophobic and only give Lys a pass because they see Everest as a boy more often than not. They still don't quite like Lys because she is a full lesbian/sapphic and sees Ever as femme.

Enjoys travelling a lot!!

Has a socmed presence through Lys and appears as a duo with her a lot. People love them together and give them a lot of the stereo contrasting ship types (fire/ice, blue/red, black/white, etc)

It not famous on her own! I don't think she would actively seek out a socmed presence of her own and would be content with being featured on Lys' socmed. He was only famous in ALNST for winning s36, he did not ask for that.

thats about it!! sorry its so long, but... i love my children... so...

anyways, taglist!! no pressure to respond <3 @rockwgooglyeyes @bluemoonscape @tsukacchako @starry-skiez @junebluues @yunoftheclouds @waterydream @pwippy @ivanttakethis @nottoonedin

[notdexterousatall]

Voldemort's Locket Horcrux

And why I think he made it in late 1980.

So, Voldemort's horcruxes. We have:

The diary - created in 1943, when Tom is 16. Presumably with the murder of Myrtle Warren. Now, I'm not the hugest fan of the assumption that Myrtle's death was used to create this one. Personally, I think horcruxes need to made with cold blooded murder, and I'm of the opinion that Myrtle's death was an accident. I think Tom would have easily guessed that the school would have been closed if a student actually died, since he'd been terrorizing the students and teachers with petrifications all year, and he wanted the school to stay open even more than he wanted to unleash a giant snake on all the mudbloods to impress his bigoted friends. But who knows, he's certainly an impulsive guy - maybe he did just pick the most annoying muggleborn girl he could find and then immediately regretted it. (I also don't think you can make a Horcrux if you regret the murder, and I think Tom certainly at least regretted the consequences of Myrtle's death.) So, Horcrux number 1: made at the end of his fifth year, with Myrtle's death, if we follow the canon timeline. However:

The ring - Tom makes this using the murder of his father. Excellent choice there, Tom; I fully believe you always intended to track down your dad and kill him, and the fact that Morfin told you where he was was very lucky for you. When did he make this? Almost certainly after his conversation with Slughorn about the possibility of multiple (seven!) Horcruxes. That conversation probably took place during his sixth or seventh year, but could maaayyybe have been fifth year as well. So Tom is probably about 17 or 18 when he makes this Horcrux. However, there is an argument to be made that Tom didn't make ANY horcruxes until after he spoke to Slughorn, so there is a possibility that at the same time he made the ring, he used the murder of one of his grandparents to make the diary as well. (Depending on if his father also had a middle name beginning with "M", it could have been his father's diary. Answers the question of how a penniless orphan with only purebloods for friends got such a nice, personalized muggle notebook.)

The diadem - We know Tom discovered where Helena Ravenclaw hid the diadem while he was still in school, because that's when he had the most access to her ghost. He could have, theoretically, gotten the location from her during the first time he interviewed for the DADA position after he graduated, but that seems unlikely considering the time limit he had for that. We know he didn't get the information the second time he interviewed, because he already had the diadem then and took the opportunity to hide it in the Room of Requirement. So, Tom knew where it was hidden by the time he graduated. I think he official timeline on this is that he retrieved the diadem on his worldwide travels after he quit Borgin & Burke's. But I don't believe that. Tom worked at Borgin's for ten years - no way did he sit on that information that long. I think he retrieved the diadem in the year following his graduation. Plus, JKR has yet to present any compelling evidence that it's difficult for enterprising wizards to cross borders (although how I would love for that to be so.) Dumbledore says he killed an Albanian peasant for this one - not buying that. Voldemort's a deeply sentimental person. He picked a special person to kill for this one, Harry just never found out who. So, diadem is Horcrux number 3.

The cup - Tom stole this from Hepzibah Smith along with the Locket near the end of his ten years working at Borgin's, probably around 1956, because he fled the country afterwards. Made this with the murder of Hepzibah - makes sense, he hated her. So that's Horcrux number 4.

The Locket - and now I propose that Tom did not make this with the murder of a muggle tramp, presumably soon after he obtained it. For one, I think Tom makes his horcruxes with sentimental murders, not strangers. And for another, the Locket was easily the Horcrux item he was most attached to, hence why it got the most complicated protections. We know Voldemort used kreacher to test the protections around it and Regulus got himself killed stealing it, sometime after he graduated (presumably) but before Halloween 1981. Harry was born at the end of July 1980, presumably conceived late 1979. I think when Tom heard the prophecy while Lily was pregnant (probably June or early July 1980, as Dumbledore was interviewing for the Divination position between school years), freaked out, and used the murder of one of his high profile enemies to make another Horcrux. He wasn't moving the Locket to the cave from somewhere else - he made the cave trap and the Locket at near about the same time in 1980

[usagirln120]

Naruto Uzumaki: Hogwarts AU

Naruto Uzumaki is a Half-Blood wizard that was born on the 10th of October 1979 and started attending Hogwarts on the 1st of September 1991, being sorted into Gryffindor House.

Because he was one of the Chosen Ones, his parents ended up being murdered by the Death Eater "Tobi" on the day of his birth and Naruto was actually believed to have perished that night as well but in order to protect him from Death Eaters who managed to avoid Azkaban, Naruto was placed in the custody of a retired Hogwarts teacher named Iruka Umino and was given his mother's last name instead of his father's.

To protect Naruto Iruka didn't reveal to Naruto who his parents were and that he was a wizard so when he started attending Hogwarts, he was believed to be a Muggleborn despite the fact that he had the surname from a ancient Pureblood family.

Since it was believed that he was an orphaned Muggleborn he was very bullied from the start which caused him to act out and play pranks as a way to get attention which eventually led to him meeting his best friends Sasuke and Sakura who, while a little annoyed by him at times, loved him like a brother.

While he was a big bullying victim of the Slytherins, his kind-hearted personality made him very popular amongst many students including Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Neji, Lee and Tenten.

In his fourth year he ended up meeting a Durmstrang student named Gaara during the Triwizard Tournament and he eventually ended up becoming his first ever friend outside of his siblings since he had always been feared and hated by his classmate because of his status as half-werewolf (meaning that he had been attacked by a werewolf, but not during a full moon).

In his fifth year, he became a member of Makarov's Army alongside his friends and it was also this year that Iruka revealed to Naruto that he was a wizard as well as telling the boy about his biological mother for the first time ever.

He eventually went on the run with his best friends Sakura and Sasuke to find Madara Uchiha's horcruxes before they returned to Hogwarts to participate in the Battle of Hogwarts which he survived and defeated Madara after talking with his father with the help of the Resurrection Stone.

After graduating from Hogwarts he became an auror for the ministry and later Minister of Magic with him getting married to Hinata Hyuga who he had two children together with, Boruto and Himawari.

He has an Ash wand with a Unicorn Hair core.

His Patronus is a Red Fox.

His favorite subjects were Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures.

His least favorite subjects were History of Magic and Astronomy.

[spilledquinoa]

I've just realized how long it's been since I've done one of these (sorry bout that) but @rottenpumpkin13 has inspired me to do another one!

Sephiroth

"simply, communism."

"sometimes you just have to put sanity before fun"

"and I will say 'boo' and send you an email saying 'boo'" (also works for Angeal)

"watch out. he's blue and predictable"

"did you just say 'I'm vaginal'??"

"chicken<6"

"did you say 'prison' and look at me?"

"I'm so mentally unstable it's hilarious"

Genesis

"my mom has limbs you nipple spork"

"get in loser, we're going to the mortitician this Saturday"

"when Gwen Stefani dies, I call dibs on Hollaback Girl royalties"

"what's the point of a voodoo doll if you don't test it?"

"who cares about you graduating when the POLAR BEARS are getting HEART ATTACKS"

"roses are red, I might be autistic, I'm actually super gay but that's not a secret"

"so that's that. I didn't swear. like a whore."

"it's toxic but in a frisky way"

"you little piss-ants"

"what rhymes with alcoholic"

Angeal

"who is it? who's meowin'?"

"Genesis is subpar at best but he's not lame!"

"why aren't we vaccinating the chickens?"

"turkey, turkey, sociopathic turkey..."

"'I drive all night to keep her warm' (referring to Story of My Life by One Direction) man, you don't have to drive to keep someone warm? get a blanket! cheaper than gas!"

"I respect, acknowledge, and admire the grindset"

"capital mark"

Zack

"bananas are freakin weird man"

"he said he has a stommy ache"

"tomato, tomahto, ketchup, potato"

"ham means death??"

"pizza that has lost all heat and pizza that has been put in the fridge are two VERY different kinds of cold pizza"

"I feel like a dish pickle"

"while you've been running the Eiffel Tower, I've been secretly stuffing bees into pants"

"I had a dream someone was cussing me out in sign language"

"when it's 0° I wear pants"

"if you need the bathroom, go now or forever hold your pee"

*whispering* "are they stealing monkey nipple milk??"

"if it's slow, it's bisquik"

Cloud

"well that was OPPRESSIVELY offensive"

"she's Amish, not racist"

"it's educated gambling"

"no I do want scurvy, just to say that I've had it"

"ZACK SAID FREEDOM AWAITS AND I HEARD FREE THE HOMELESS"

"if you step on a crack and break your mom's back, what about orphans?"

"at your temple dipshit"

"you can't just 'dick around' at a SENATE HEARING."

*about Genesis* "wow! I never knew someone could that well versed in being a bitch!"

"I will never cease to disappoint"

Group!

Cloud: is it snowing or hailing?

Zack: snailing

Cloud: aren't you gay??

Genesis: yeah sometimes I forget

Angeal: protons have mass

Zack: I didn't know they were Catholic!

*chatter, before room goes suddenly silent*

Angeal: ...and that's how I first kissed Genesis on the mouth!

Cloud: that's a real how I met your mother vibe

Zack: I'm being killed!

Genesis: no you're being kidnapped fuckwad, there's a difference

Angeal, about Cloud: you're selling yourself out to the army?

Genesis: like a prostitute??

Sephiroth: you're offending prostitutes

Genesis: at least they get something out of it

[nightislandnoveltymug]

Lmaoo @monstersinthecosmos here u go!! IN RE THE PET ARMAND POST but not reblogging to add on because [looks at how much I wrote]. (The gist of the original post being, Marius' relationship with Armand is fundamentally different from that with e.g. Pandora and although he loves him, he does so in a far more paternalistic way and Armand is never his equal.)

Everything you said about Marius and fathers and parental relationships is so good, and this part, just, bingo: I think a lot about how his need for stoicism and humanity is probably also expressed with his need to be the paterfamilias. So I agree lmao!, I'm just here to ramble pointlessly to expand on some points you raised because I got excited!

Just jumping off from this: What’s interesting with Marius’s fledglings though is that he tends not to treat them as equals. ... Even once Armand is a vampire, he’s still not Marius’s equal, and Marius’s age and power are still held over him. 

I feel like Marius maybe didn't exactly know what he wanted Armand to be -- he had never so calculatedly picked out a prospective fledgling ahead of time before, and then had the time to mould them and prepare them for the job. And like, I say calculatedly, and it 100% was, he goes through that whole internal spiel on how an amnesiac orphan is perfect because they won't be missed lmao, but I still think he mis-calculated! I wonder if on some level he thought he wanted someone who would be his pupil at first but would then 'graduate' from that state, who would challenge him, someone he could have an equal exchange of ideas with, because that sounded nice in theory -- but when it came right down to it, he would find the transition between states difficult.

Of course the 'transition', for him and Armand, was the Covens destroying their life together and Marius then meeting Armand centuries later as an 'adult' vampire, a figure of power in his own right, who had been a leader of others, and who had grown into that role completely outside of Marius' influence (indeed, by espousing an ideology Marius hated).

So it's possible that if that hadn't happened, and Marius had been able to 'train' Armand in vampirism for a few years more, he would have been better able to let go of him as a pupil and begin to see him as a former pupil, and a full-fledged (ha) immortal, and an adult. It's possible. But I'm not entirely sure he would be able to, in actual practice. This is kind of related to this thing you said, for me: By never seeing Armand as a complete person, Marius never has to feel threatened by him. We see this in toxic parents a lot. Like, I want you to be good, but I’m insecure if you’re better than me.

I think that's so true!! But also, miscalculation again, I feel like he went into this with a too optimistic assessment of his own ability to be secure in himself when under constant scrutiny by another person who -- because Marius picked Amadeo in part for those qualities!!! -- was alert and highly intelligent and would form his own judgments! He hoped that with a 'blank slate' (a very young boy with amnesia) he could avoid the thing which had always been the problem with e.g. Pandora, namely that she held different views from him, and would not be swayed. (B&G: I remembered my own long ago reflection on the promise of a virgin, that one could make of a virgin what one wished without price. etc) Amadeo retaining as much of the values and 'ideology' of his home as he did was something Marius hadn't anticipated, I think -- much less the almost aloof and patronising attitude Amadeo took towards him sometimes!

I think it may also be important here that Marius hadn't lived this close with anyone since Pandora, and then Mael and Avicus for a while, and he couldn't handle it with them either lmao. He's the king of self-isolating, both emotionally and geographically, and he's had centuries to get used to never being Perceived! And I think he really thought that he would be able to handle it because Amadeo would be his pupil and Marius has so many centuries on him, surely nothing this human child could do could faze him. But then this literal teenager's perceptions and opinions kept getting under his skin! I guess what I'm saying is like: I absolutely think he saw Armand as a helpless, lovely thing he could dote on and feed and clothe and help to thrive, and be in charge of, and mould the way he wanted, and derive comfort from. Which while obviously not a 1:1 to how we think of a dog lol, has a lot of the same overtones as a relationship to a pet. But!, I also think Marius not only wasn't prepared for Armand's personality, I think he also failed to predict himself and his own responses. Like you also pointed out, he's never fully consistent.

Moving on a bit: to the part about the Covens' kidnapping of Armand being perceived by Marius almost as harming him more: you know me, I will never shut up about these two bits from B&G!!

And here lay the proof now that he had not destroyed my beautiful child, rather he had made of him a victim. He had won him over; he had taken Amadeo to himself! He had more utterly defeated me than I had ever dreamt. // "They starved our Amadeo," I said, "they tortured him. This is plain here. And when he had given up all hope, believing me to be dead, and believing their piety to be just, he became one of them."

Because this is the only thing where I'm like WELL ACKSHULLY lmao -- it isn't even that he didn't know what was done to Armand! I think he just... wasn't fully able to take the consequences of knowing. Which ofc just underscores what you said about him not seeing Armand fully as an equal but more as a part of his household/as one of his dependants, because like, if this had been Pandora, who had been tortured?? Marius is already rearing to go because Raymond Gallant told him that he heard from some random vampire that Arjun was abusive to Pandora! But when it's Armand... obviously not to say that he cares less or he loves him less, but suddenly it becomes an extension of the attack on his person, rather than an outrage against someone he loves.

(And yeah, tbh it's entirely possible that him seeing Armand as like, not a full autonomous person does 'redirect' Marius' anger -- away from Armand and onto Santino instead; that if he did see Armand as a full equal, he would be angry with him, for joining the covens. But I think even there, he slips up a little, because he clearly is angry with him for it! And he's trying to reel it back into the parameters he's set up, where it wasn't Armand's fault that he got caught up in the Marius-Santino duel and he couldn't help it. But he never quite succeeds, and the hurt bleeds into their present-day relationship I think, without Marius ever being willing to acknowledge that that's what it is. Super healthy!! I love vampires.)